


And You Played It To The Beat

by frances_veritas, KayCeeCruz



Series: Assassin!Luke/Politician!Noah AU [1]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Complete, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-17
Updated: 2011-08-17
Packaged: 2017-10-22 17:24:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 52,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/240610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frances_veritas/pseuds/frances_veritas, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KayCeeCruz/pseuds/KayCeeCruz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <b>Co-written with frances_veritas</b>
</p><p>
  <i>AU. Luciano Grimaldi doesn’t know a normal life. He thinks he may have. Once. But it’s so far deep in the recesses of his mind, it couldn't have been his life. It had to be an alternate universe, one where he’s not a highly-skilled and trained assassin. Because that’s the life that he knows. That’s the life he grew up with. When he gets his next assignment from The Company, he thinks it’s going to be a normal, routine kill. He meets Noah Mayer, an up and coming extraordinary man who’s making big splashes in the political world. In a world of corruption and half-truths can Luke finish the job he was given? Or will he put everyone he loves, including himself, in danger?</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	And You Played It To The Beat

**Author's Note:**

> The Company in this story is in no way associated with the show Heroes. :P We just liked the name. There are also extended author's notes at the end! In case, you know, you're really interested.

It’s cold and Luke fights down a shiver, but one sneaks up on him anyway because it’s really fucking _cold_. He’s sure it’s a lot warmer on the ground where the wind isn’t threatening to knock him off at any time from the roof of the old factory building he’s currently on. He takes another peek over the raised wall that he’s hidden behind and waits impatiently for the man to show up. His target is late, and he bristles some more. Then he gets annoyed at himself for his impatience because he’s supposed to be a professional. A professional that’s been doing this for nearly a decade now. And he knows better than anyone how unpredictable an assignment can get. He focuses because he has a job to do.

Luke knows he’s damn good at what he does. He also knows why he’s incredibly irritable tonight. He’s dreading the talk he plans on having later with his employer when he gives the report of the outcome of his assignment. He’s tempted to forget about it altogether but he can’t. He’s put it off for far too long already and this morning he steeled himself, ready and resolved to get it over with.

He hears the car pull up and Luke gets into position, kneels behind the wall on one knee, the M1 rifle scope perfectly balanced on the ledge. His hands are strong and steady around it and he waits for the man to get out of his car.

 _Target: Karl McCoy_  
Occupation: Real Estate Agent  
Case Number: #25452  
Case Significance: Delta  
Basis: Code Black #937

Luke reviews the case file in his head, numbers blurring together but he’s memorized the codes since he was fifteen. He feels the familiar burn in his gut and fire in his blood as he reminds himself the reasons why someone wants this guy dead. Smuggling. In this particular situation, children from several different countries. Luke knows there’s no truck coming in tonight to make a drop and McCoy is only here for a meeting for negotiations. Luke’s orders are to take him out before he can finalize any of them. He’s been watching McCoy for weeks, trailing him, picking up his habits, which led Luke to where he is now.

The wind picks up around him but he barely notices it anymore, so focused he is on his target. The rifle should have been cold in his hands, but the metal beneath his fingers is hot as his grip tightens around the trigger. He watches as McCoy steps out of the car, his breath quickens slightly before it calms and he breathes out. Then squeezes.

The bullet slices through the air silently and hits its target perfectly, right between McCoy’s eyes. He falls boneless to the ground, only two feet away from the door to the building where the meeting is being held. Luke stays the required thirty seconds to assess the entire situation, makes sure the job is done before he leaves. It’ll probably be another fifteen minutes before they find the body. And by then Luke will be long gone, as fast, quiet, and undetected into the night as he came.

  


 

All equipment put away, Luke enters his quarters and shrugs off his jacket. All he wants to do is collapse into his bed and sleep for the next fourteen hours but he knows he’s got a report to file and a debriefing to attend before he can. So he avoids looking at his bed and heads straight for his desk. He sits and opens up his laptop but before his fingers hit a key, his doors burst open and he swivels around with a sigh.

“Luciano! My favoritest cuz ever!”

Luke rolls his eyes and turns back to his computer, ignoring.

“How’d it go?”

“Hey! Stop ignoring me, jerk!”

“Fine fine. How did it go, _Luke_?”

Luke smiles and turns around. “Fine. Standard mission case accomplished, Zo. But you knew that.”

Zoe makes herself comfortable on his bed. “Yeah, but it’s tradition. Plus, I’m still waiting for you to fuck up one of these days.”

Luke chucks a pencil at her. “Hey. I never wish you bad luck on _your_ assignments, _ballerina_.”

“Ugh, do not call me that.”

“Don’t call me Luciano.”

Zoe makes a face. “Touché.” She hesitates for a moment. “Though, I have no idea why you insist on being called Luke. Isn’t that what…they used to call you?”

Luke stiffens and fights the strong retort that he wants to fling her way. Instead he answers, “I just prefer not to be called a name that sounds like I’m from a bad Italian mob movie, okay?”

“Ha! Isn’t that the life we’re living?” Zoe laughs.

“Yeah, maybe one day we won’t have to.”

Zoe’s expression turns serious. “You’re still planning on going through with this?”

Luke sighs and gives up trying to type up his report. “Yes. If I don’t do it now, I’ll never work up the nerve to again.”

“But you’re just going to make things complicated for yourself, Luke. I mean, trying to… if you’re going to… I don’t think this is going to work.” Zoe chews on her bottom lip.

“I have to try, Zo.” Luke pauses. He’s had this conversation with his cousin several times already the past few months, ever since he told her about his decision. And she always tries to talk him out of it. “Don’t you ever wonder what our lives would be like if we weren’t doing…this?” He waves a hand around his room in indication.

Zoe is not looking at him anymore, her face set in a deep frown. “It’s not so bad. I don’t know why you feel the need to always question everything.” She turns back to him, eyes fierce and determined. “Tell me, Luke. Have we had a bad life? Did we grow up starving or beaten?”

Luke opens his mouth to reply but Zoe cuts him off. “No. We haven’t. We had a roof over our heads, we had parents who fed us, bought us everything we needed.”

“And raised us to be killers!” he yells out. Luke watches the open hostility on his cousin’s face and takes a deep breath. “The Company—”

“—saved our family!” Zoe interrupts. “And we owe them a lifelong debt.”

Luke grits his teeth and tries to calm down. He knows the story. It’s the story that every Grimaldi kid hears and learns from the moment they’re capable enough to understand. Luke knows it, like a creed, like a prayer or a bedtime story; it’s so ingrained in his psyche. Luke never thought to question it, never had the courage. Until now.

“Zo—”

“I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” she interrupts him again. This time her voice is low, a whisper, and it’s sad.

Luke’s heart breaks a little and he moves from his desk to his bed and sits next to her, arm going around her shoulders. “I’m going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that. No ones ever tried to…do what you’re trying to do.”

“You make it sound like I’m planning mutiny or world domination.”

Zoe punches his arm. “Don’t be an asshole. You know what I mean.”

Luke sighs. She’s right, he has no idea what’s going to happen once he lets his boss know about his decision. But he knows there’s no going back now, he’s determined. This isn’t the life he wants forever.

“There’s also that whole I might miss you thing too. Or whatever,” Zoe mumbles.

“Now you make it sound like I’m submerging myself into the deep blue sea and never resurfacing. I’m still going to see you, Zo.”

“Again, you don’t know that. What if there are major consequences? And honestly, Luke, I don’t know why you even want out. You always get to pick your preferences for each assignment. As for as I know _no one_ in The Company gets that privilege unless they’re some hierarchy. But you do, cause everyone loves you, and you’re the perfect little soldier and—”

“Zo…”

“And you only pick up cases that have the really shady bastards. No women and children, no one who’s completely ‘innocent’.” Zoe spits out the words like a mock and she scowls at him.

Luke stiffens but doesn’t move away. If anything, Zoe’s tirade is just reminding him of the reasons he wants out. He feels sick listening to all the excuses he’s given himself over the years on why he still stays. He kidded himself into thinking that maybe if he just took out the bad guys he could justify everything else. But then he remembers that The Company employs several thousand people all over the world. And those people have no problem taking any assignment, the ones that Luke rejects.

“Zoe, this is why I want out. This isn’t me. I can’t…I can’t do this anymore.” He looks her directly in the eye. “And I know you hate it too. This tough girl act isn’t fooling me. You’re my best friend. We grew up together in this. I know how much the guilt eats away at you too. Why don’t you come with me? We can tell him together.”

Zoe’s eyes widen and she scrambles away from him on the bed and stands up. “Oh no no no. Don’t you dare drag me into this, Luke. This is your thing, your decision, your whatever. Don’t even think about bringing my name up.”

Luke glares at her. “Fine. But stop trying to change my mind, okay? I’m doing it tonight and that’s that.”

“Fine.”

_“Fine.”_

They glare at each other some more for several minutes before all anger leaves Luke’s body in one breath.

“Can we not fight? I’m going to need you when this all goes to shit and blows up in my face. But I’m not backing down either. Please.”

Zoe tries to maintain her glare at him for another moment before she softens too. And Luke smiles, holding out his arms. Zoe doesn’t hesitate and she walks into them, buries her face against his shoulder.

“I really hope you know what you’re doing, Luke.”

Luke’s rubs a hand up and down her back. “Me too, _ballerina_ , me too.

 

  


 

It doesn’t go as bad as Luke thought it would. But he is kind of unsettled by the almost perfectly calm demeanor of the man in front of him. Luke forces himself not to squirm in his chair. He hasn’t squirmed in front of him since he was ten years old and he isn’t about to start up again at twenty-six.

“You want to quit The Company.”

Luke keeps his gaze. “Yes, sir.”

“Why?”

And Luke has to fight back another sigh. “I already told you my reasons, sir.”

“I just do not think this is in your best interests, Luciano.”

“With all due respect, sir, I’m twenty-six. Don’t you think I’m old enough to know what’s in my best interests?”

“Luciano, you should reconsider—”

“No, Dad.” Luke abandons all pretense of being formal. He’s too frustrated. “I don’t want to reconsider, I’ve been thinking about this for months, years maybe. And I’ve made my decision, and you can’t really change my mind either.”

Luke runs an agitated hand through his hair. He’s really tired of repeating himself.

“Do I need to remind you what The Company has done for us and our family?”

Luke groans and gracelessly flops back down on the chair. He should have expected this.  
“Dad, I am well aware of what they’ve done but that doesn’t make anything different for me.”

Damian frowns and stands, both hands clasped neatly behind his back. He walks over to the other side of his desk and stops in front of Luke.

“We would have died out if it were not for their help. Our blood line would have been gone, there would be no Grimaldis left. Zoe would never have been born, _you_ would not be here.”

Luke tries really hard not to scowl because he already knows the story. His great-great-great-great grandfather Ermilo’s life had been in danger. From many things that Luke’s overtired brain is too lazy to think about right now. But he had gone to The Company for help, and they had accepted. On one condition: Ermilo and his family had to work for them. Luke often wonders if his grandfather knew exactly what he’d been getting into when he agreed. If he knew that he was basically signing over entire souls of the Grimaldi family line on that day.

“They have also provided greatly for our entire family the past four generations. We owe them—”

“—a life debt. I know, dad. Tell me something I don’t.”

Damian’s frown deepens. “I do not appreciate you making light of the situation.”

“I’m not making light of _anything_. I’m trying to tell you that I’ve decided and there’s nothing you can do or tell me that’s going to change my mind.” Luke pauses, thinking for a moment. “I’ve done some research these past months about this. And all I could find were vague reports. Has anyone successfully cut off ties with The Company without any trouble?”

This time Damian looks away and walks to the window, but not before Luke sees a flicker of something in his eyes. Something that looks like trepidation, and Luke’s resolve shakes a little.

“There isn’t a cloud in the sky. The stars are beautiful tonight.”

Luke knows his father is stalling so he gives him time, but after several minutes Luke starts to fidget again. “Dad…”

Damian sighs. “Yes, I do know of cases where agents have wanted to leave. But no one has attempted to leave in several decades.”

“But they _did_ leave, right? What happened to those people? How much trouble am I going to run into?”

“Can you not see why this is a bad idea, Luciano? There have been cases but they have been extremely rare. And it takes a great deal of influence for The Company to even consider letting anyone go. You know as well as I do that there are protocols, an oath, and a secrecy that are never meant to be broken.”

“But _you_ have that influence,” Luke pushes. “They’ll listen to you, they always have. And haven’t I had a flawless record?”

“Yes, your record is exemplary,” Damian reluctantly agrees.

“And they should know that I’m not just going to waltz out of here shouting at the top of my lungs what they are and what they do. I’m not an idiot. You didn’t raise me to be one, and they wouldn’t have hired me if I was. I have my training, I know how to keep my mouth shut.” Luke takes a deep breath. “I just want out, dad. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Damian has to look away again. Luke has Lily’s eyes. And he’s never been able to say no to those eyes.

“Please,” Luke tries again. “I’ve never asked you for anything. Can you talk to them for me?”

There’s a long pause where Luke feels like he’s not breathing before Damian turns back to him.

“It will not be easy.”

Luke almost falls over with relief. “But you’ll talk to them?”

“Yes, I will. But on one condition.”

Luke looks at him warily. “What?”

“You take this one last assignment. You will complete it and report back to me, then I will arrange a meeting with headquarters.”

“Okay…” Luke says slowly. “If I take the assignment, this will be it? No more while you go to your meeting?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, who is he?”

Damian takes folder from his desk and hands it to Luke. “Noah Mayer. Age: Twenty-seven. He’s in the political field.”

“Why do people want him dead and what’s so special about him that I have to take the case?”

“Human trafficking. He’s doing some money laundering and using it to fund several prostitution circuits. Details say they involve illegal immigrants, mostly young boys.”

Luke’s jaw tightens and he can already see himself putting a bullet in this guy’s head. Or something. He shakes himself out of the thoughts. “So why me again?”

Damian stills for only a second before continuing, “It’s a delicate situation. He’s very well-liked and popular. He has a lot of people who care for him meaning he is basically being watched twenty-four-seven. We need someone to get close enough to him that they will be welcomed.”

Luke nods.

“Also, ah, he tends to prefer the company of…others that have his same interests.”

Luke snorts. “Ah, so he’s gay.” He watches as his father’s lips thin at that and how he shifts, looking vaguely uncomfortable. Luke’s sexuality is a topic that they never discuss. But it’s something they both know exists. It’s there, and Luke has never denied it, but he’s never known his father’s true feelings on it either. And a part of Luke, more than a part of him actually, is afraid to know. It’s sort of become an unspoken agreement between them.

Damian clears his throat. “Correct. So you will take it?”

“Yeah. When’s the deadline?”

“Before Zachary Grayson can be elected Senator. Mayer is one of his biggest supporters and Grayson has taken him under his wing, so to speak. Mayer has made significant successful impacts in Grayson’s campaign.”

“All right, got it. I’ll review the file some more tomorrow.” He tries to unsuccessfully stifle a yawn behind his hand and Damian gives him a disapproving look.

“Sorry, it’s been a long night,” Luke says sheepishly.

“You will need to head to Chicago in a week and start your assessments there.”

Luke nods and stands up. “May I leave?” His bones feel like liquid and all he wants to do is drown in his sheets on his nice comfy bed.

“One last question, Luciano. What were you planning on doing if I had denied your request to speak to The Company on your behalf?”

Luke thinks for a moment before shrugging. “Um. Wing it?”

Damian frowns at him again (he’d been doing that a lot all night) and then shakes his head. “You are dismissed.”

“Yes, sir. Goodnight.” Luke turns to leave and opens the doors, nearly colliding with his uncle just outside. “Oops! Sorry, my legs are jelly right now.”

“It’s okay, Luciano. You have a good night.”

Luke smiles tiredly at him. “Goodnight, uncle.” He walks down the hallways and turns to a corridor and disappears from sight.

Dante watches him go before he enters Damian’s office, closing the doors quietly behind him. He walks over and stands by Damian by the window. They are silent for several minutes before Damian speaks.

“How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough.” A pause. “You’re not planning on letting him go, are you?”

Damian stares at the stars, thinking of how much Lily had loved the outdoors, being out in the open, always a free spirit.

“No, Dante, I am not.”

 

  


 

Luke lies on his back trying to get his breathing back in control, but despite that he feels relaxed and he sinks further into the bed. The sweat on his skin is sticky but it starts to cool and he reaches for the cloth on the side table to wipe down his stomach. A warm hand sneaks around his waist while he’s turned and a body is pressed against his back.

“Hmmm. Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay the entire weekend?”

Luke smiles and turns back around, tangling his legs with his bed partner’s. “I told you, _James_ , I’ve got to go out of town on business starting tomorrow.”

Blue eyes twinkle. “Ouch, baby. You wound me with the full names. Can I help it if I want your hot body in my bed for the next two days?”

Luke smirks into the kiss that follows, running one hand down Jim’s back, the other tangling in his hair and twisting. Luke’s legs wrap around his waist as Jim rolls fully on top of him, bearing down and grinding their hips together. They both moan into each other’s mouths.

This is why Jim is his favorite. No strings attached casual sex Luke can do. The other stuff he prefers not to think about. And Jim is good, better than good, pretty fucking great actually, with the current way he’s got Luke’s toes curling where he’s dug them on the small of Jim’s back.

Jim kisses his way up to Luke’s ear, pausing to nibble a little before speaking. “How long are you going to be gone?”

Luke looks up and lets himself get distracted for a bit. Jim has got really fucking blue eyes. “Why? Running out of willing bodies to fuck?”

Jim rolls his eyes. “Always so crude. You’d think you were taught in a barn rather than that fancy shmancy prep school and university you went to.” He continues to roll his hips, rubbing their cocks together and Luke’s retort is cut off by his moans.

“I’ll be gone indefinitely. Official shipping business.”

“You have a lot of official shipping business.”

“Are we going to lay here while you talk me to death or are you going to fuck me?”

Luke’s question is answered by the blunt head of a cock pushing inside him and he loses himself for several more hours before he has to go and face the world.

 

  


 

Noah smiles at the senator as he talks about all the funding he's prepared to give the The Walsh Project if he's re-elected. He wonders if anyone can tell how fake his expression actually is. Senator Fredericks has always voted against any bill that would give the multitude of community projects in Oakdale any assistance. Noah's pretty sure that once he realizes that the focus of The Walsh Project is to help gay runaways, he'll be changing his tune quickly.

Lucinda brushes past him, gives him that probing stare of hers, grinning when she catches him stifling a yawn. He's always been good with his poker face but even he has his limits and she knows that. Which is why Noah thinks she turns back and joins his conversation.

“Jacob, it's so good to see you.” Her smile is wide, almost sincere and it still surprises him how much of this game they play is lies. It's the part he hates the most, the reason he'd been so reluctant to step into the ring. But he owes Lucinda everything. They’re doing good work, and in the end that’s all that matters to him.

“Lucinda Walsh. Beautiful as always.” Fredericks says smoothly, taking her hand and kissing it before smiling at her. “I was just speaking to young Mayer here about your new initiative and how I hope to help get it through. After re-election of course.”

Lucinda smiles sharply, one eyebrow raised. “I'll remember you said that, Jacob.”

The senator laughs like it's the funniest joke ever and Noah resists rolling his eyes. Lucinda glances at him, subtly lets him know he can go and he makes his excuses about needing to mingle. He walks slowly to the bar at the other end of the room, gaze studying all the people milling around. He finds Casey taking to Richard Harris, head of the Gay Alliance, and someone Noah always likes to talk with.

He orders another drink and makes a mental note that it'll be his last one for the night. Nothing worse than drunk politicians. Noah smiles because he can hear Holden saying that clearly in his head. There's a pang, homesickness, and he really wishes this campaign would end soon. He sees that Reg has joined the little discussion in the corner and that's all he needs, starts to head in their direction.

He takes two steps, gaze sweeping across the room one more time when it falls on the blond standing quietly in the corner, taking a long drink from the glass in his hand, and Noah's stomach clenches as the other man swallows, licks at his lips and suddenly looks right at him. There's a quick flash of surprise that he covers before he turns his attention elsewhere.

Noah watches him walk toward one of the large picture windows. Noah knows the view pretty well. He'd been fascinated by it from the first time he'd seen it at thirteen years old. The blond stares out but Noah knows, somehow, that's he's not really seeing it. He's trying to blend in, go unnoticed, but Noah honestly can't imagine how he would ever accomplish that.

Something itches under his skin, burns and wants like he hasn't in too long a time. Even then, he'd been too young to understand what it was, what he needed. Now, he's more than sure what it is.

He knows better, though. It's never a good idea to mix business with pleasure. Noah knows that he should walk away. Go find Casey or Reg. Let them distract him with campaign talk and details he's too weary to care about. That's what his head tells him to do.

Why his feet are moving in the direction of the stranger is something he doesn't understand. Noah has no idea what he's doing. This isn't like him at all but there's just something about the man that drives him forward. He sees the way the blond's shoulders tense as Noah approaches and there's a swoop of victory in his stomach.

He wasn't the only one paying attention.

“It's a beautiful view.”

For an opening line, it's not the best but it could have been worse, he supposes. He's never been very good at this part.

There's a long pause and then gold-brown eyes look over at him, eyebrow raised, and Noah's heart constricts in his chest because fuck the guy is even more good-looking close up. Noah would even go so far as saying gorgeous. He bites back the actual words and smiles at the man. “I've always been fond of it for as long as I can remember.”

He receives a nod in return and a quiet, “I can see why.”

That's the opening he was looking for and Noah extends his hand out. “Noah Mayer.” The pause this time is much shorter and then the man's hand is enveloping his and Noah starts at the current of electricity that shoots up his body when they touch. He can see the shock of it on the other man's face before he pulls his hand away, covers it with a cough that is a little more than awkward.

“I know who you are, Mr. Mayer.”

It's Noah's turn to raise an eyebrow. “Really? Have we met before?”

Looking at him, the angles of his face, wide eyes and pretty mouth, the shadow of dimples on his cheeks when his mouth tightens, Noah thinks he's seen him before. Somewhere.

“I don't think so.” He clears his throat, shrugs politely. “We don't usually run in the same circles, Mr. Mayer.”

Noah tries not to cringe at the name. He hates it when he's called that. He's been used to Walsh for a long time but when he'd chosen to start working he'd wanted to make it on his own terms and not because he was Lucinda Walsh's ward so Mayer it had been. He hadn't been aware how much it would bother him to go by the Colonel's name again.

“Noah, please.”

“Okay. Noah.”

He grins and sees the flash of lust in the eyes staring back at him, feels it in his gut and thinks that for once he's not going to over think this.

“Can I get you another drink?” He points at the almost empty glass in the blonde's hand, sees the way he looks down then back up, nods once. “What was it? Scotch and soda?”

The man shakes his head. “Just soda water.”

Noah grins wider. “A fizzy water man. My uncle Jack loves the stuff, too.” He motions for him to follow, tries to find a way to get a name without seeming...well, too overzealous, maybe. They reach the bar and he waves one of the bartenders over. “Can I get another soda water, please? Thanks.” He turns around and finds himself being studied. He gives his observer a questioning look and watches his face turn slightly pink.

“Sorry. I – you just aren't what I was expecting.”

Noah smirks and asks. “Really? How so?”

The face goes blank and there's another shrug. “Something more polished. Aren't politicians supposed to be smooth?”

Noah snorts. “That's what I hear but I'm not really – I don't think I'm your typical guy running for office, you know?”

“No. You're not very smooth.”

Noah laughs loudly, heads turning their way, because that's honest. He takes a deep breath and before he loses his nerve asks, “Okay, so I've been trying to find a _smooth_ way of bringing this up but we both know that's just not going to happen.”

There's a twitch of lips, dimples teasing at cheeks and Noah's clenches his fist to keep from touching.

“And what have you been trying to ask?”

“Your name. I keep calling you ‘the blond’ in my head and somehow I find it a little insulting to you.”

He gets a laugh for that. Noah smiles back, he can't seem to help it with this guy, waiting to hear the answer.

Before he can get it, he feels a hand smooth across his shoulders and turns to find Lucinda at his side. “I'm sorry to interrupt, sweetheart, but I just want you to meet Senator Russell. It'll only take a moment and then you can come back to your --” Lucinda's voice falters and Noah tears his eyes away to glance at her.

She's gone pale, her eyes wide and shocked as she stares at his companion. He glances over and sees the same expression mirrored on that face. Something like fear takes hold and Noah takes an instinctive step back, closer to Lucinda.

“Lucinda? What's wrong? What--”

But she's not listening and Noah watches her swallow hard before she speaks, almost a whisper.

“Luke.”

Noah stops breathing. Because that – that just can’t be. It can’t.

Except that Luke's face seems to have closed off and he jerks a nod at Lucinda.

“Lucinda.”

Luke's gaze, cold and distant, turns back to Noah, and this is actually happening.

The first man Noah has even remotely be attracted to in forever turns out to be the long-lost grandson he'd replaced. He almost wants to laugh. Because of course it is.

This is his life after all.

There’s a moment where Noah actually feels like he’s in a movie. All the movies he’s watched growing up where the climactic scene happens and the proverbial shit hits the fan. He can picture it all, the expressions on the actors’ faces, the tense atmosphere. The way everything silences but the main characters’ voices, the way the camera zooms to the important angles. It’s bright and clear in Noah’s mind, the way he used to think about while growing up, when he had entertained a career as a film director.

That scene is all laid out in front of him now. Live and real. And he can’t breathe, actually waiting for something to explode. He’s torn between looking at the expression of outright distaste Luke can’t help but show as Lucinda comes closer, complete opposite of the amused one he had worn for Noah earlier, and the look of longing mixed with sadness and hope on Lucinda’s face. The silence that descends upon the three of them is suffocating, and Noah is close to doing something drastic, like laugh manically just to break the tension, but Lucinda starts to speak and Noah’s eyes snap back to her.

“Luke,” she says again, and her voice breaks a little. Noah fights the urge to wrap her up protectively and take her away. She clears her throat. “It’s so good to see you again, darling.”

Noah knows right away it’s the wrong to say because Luke’s eyes get impossibly narrow and his voice is ice when he speaks.

“Don’t call me that.”

Noah is about to snap at Luke to mind his manners or show some respect or _something_ but Lucinda stops him with a look before he can.

“I apologize. I am just very surprised to see you here. I didn’t expect you to be.”

“I didn’t expect you to be here either. Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane to California?”

Both Noah and Lucinda are surprised that Luke knows this. But Lucinda doesn’t question it. “The meeting got canceled so I decided to attend this. The benefit can always use the extra support. I’m very grateful you are here, Luke.” Her voice and face are earnest, the most earnest Noah’s seen Lucinda in a long time, and he puts a hand on her arm to offer some kind of comfort.

He catches how Luke’s eyes settle at the contact and his expression turns contemplative for a moment before it smoothes into cold indifference.

“Well, if I had known you’d be here, I wouldn’t have come.”

And that’s it, Noah is going to punch him. He watches a dozen different emotions flit through Lucinda’s face before it settles into something like defeat and acceptance and Noah’s heart aches for her. He watches as she smiles tightly, her eyes sad.

“Whatever the reason may be, I’m glad for it. Are you in town for long?”

Luke’s mouth twists. If they only knew the actual reason he was here. “That’s none of your business.”

“Are you here on business? In just Chicago? Have you been to Oakdale?”

Luke tenses more and more at each question. “Like I said, it’s none of your business. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll be leaving now.”

Noah is almost glad to see the back of him but he sees the way Lucinda’s face falls before she grabs Luke’s arm, abandoning all earlier pretenses.

“Luke, please. You should at least stop by and see your fath—Holden before you leave again. He’d love to see you.”

 

  


 

And that’s just _it_. Luke can’t take another second of this. He yanks his arm from Lucinda’s grasp so fast that he nearly takes her with him when he takes a step back. “Don’t. Don’t even start.”

“Luke—”

“I said _stop_.” Luke is trying really hard to keep it together and he’s completely horrified at how fast he’s losing it. He doesn’t even look at Noah. “It was a mistake coming here. Please don’t contact me, don’t look for me. Goodbye.”

And with that he walks away, barely breathing, and cursing Damian and The Company and the Snyders, and Noah _fucking_ Mayer because he can. And he’s irrationally mad at _him_ the most for whatever reason he’s not really looking too closely at right now.

The evening air is cool and windy around him as he walks around a corner to hail a cab, and then wonders what the hell he’s going to do now.

 

  


 

There's an eerie silence after Luke's departure and Noah isn't sure what he should do. His heart is beating hard in his chest, anger mixing in with the desire from earlier when he catches the broken look on Lucinda's face that Luke put there. He grabs her arm gently, steadying her as they move down the almost empty corridor to one of the offices he'd passed by on the way into the museum.

By the time he gets them into one, Lucinda is shaking a little and that's never something Noah has seen. Not in the fifteen years he's been a part of her family. Not when she faced down kidnappers and psychos and cancer. He'd never seen her this hurt and that… that means everything he had felt, for those brief minutes with Luke, is moot. Because he caused this and it's not acceptable. Not to Noah, because Lucinda is his family. The only one he's ever known (aside from the Snyders), and he can't be okay with what's happening.

“Hey. Lucinda, look at me.”

She feels fragile under his fingers and he tries not to think about the disease she's managed to beat twice, mostly by sheer will. If he thinks about it, he might have to chase down that grandson of hers and punch his lights out.

Or kiss him.

Either option would not end well, Noah's pretty sure about that.

“Luci, please.”

It's probably unfair of him because he hasn't called her anything that informal in years. But she's lucky he doesn't actually use the word “Mom” at her right now. That's enough, though, to shake her out of her stupor, makes her blink up at him, bringing her hand up to his cheek and smiling sadly.

“I am sorry, darling. It was – just a bit of a shock to see him. And – well, I figured he wasn't fond of us but that was – surprising.”

He's never heard her stilted before. She always knows what to say. But he can't blame her at all. That scene had been pretty cold.

“Why are you apologizing? You weren't the jackass in that situation.”

Her smile is wry. “I am not so sure about that.” Noah gives her an incredulous look but she shrugs lightly. “I – pushed. I should not have asked questions. I could – he reminds me so much of Lily. She had the same expression when she was angry.”

Noah has no idea what pushing Lucinda was talking about. Her questions had seemed tame for what she knew he was capable of asking. And how she would normally demand the answers from other people. He had seen the effort it had taken for her to remain impassive to Luke. His demeanor had been enough to stop her, Noah thinks.

He brings his attention back to her when she sighs, slumps a little forward, and he grabs her shoulders, frowns at the way her face seems to have aged in the last ten minutes. Tired lines running across her forehead, her mouth etched with pain that he knows well enough she won't verbalize.

Okay, maybe he'd actually just punch the jerk.

“He didn't have any right to treat you that way, Lucinda.”

She shakes her head, pats his shoulder once and glances up at him. “He – there are lies and half-truths that I am sure Damian told him. Things he has been hearing since he was a child. He doesn't know us. Our family. There must be resentment.”

Noah knows parts of the story about Luke. Remembers Holden telling him about the little boy they lost. Luke's ornament on the Christmas tree every year. The quiet that surrounded every birthday that passed. Emma always baked a cake and even if none of them admitted why, it was obvious. He knows that Lucinda had tried to do everything she could to keep him. He'd been hearing about that since he'd been thirteen and later, when he'd been old enough, he'd tried to find out exactly what gone down, only stopping when Holden had asked.

“He's gone, Noah.”

He remembers the look on Holden's face as he'd said that. It still makes Noah’s heart hurt a little.

If that was the way the adults in that whole insanity still reacted, Noah can't imagine what a four year old must have thought. Or what that might have done to the man he would become. It's a scary thought, actually. Especially considering he knows – at least has been told – how Damian Grimaldi works. It can't have been easy growing up with him.

Noah sighs and Lucinda looks at him, gaze softening when she sees his anger deflate. “He's the victim, Noah.”

“Yeah, I just got that.” He frowns, brings her into a hug, dropping a kiss onto her hair. “I still think he was wrong, but I understand why he might feel the way he does.”

“Yes.”

They need get back to the party before their absence becomes the gossip for the mill. Tonight should still be about the program. He gives Lucinda a probing look.

“Maybe you should go in and say your goodbyes. Go to the hotel early.”

She starts to shake her head but Noah raises an eyebrow, dares her to argue because he has cards he hasn't yet pulled and she knows he will. He hears her laugh, quiet and a little unsteady, but it's a laugh.

“Fine. Let's not have your empty threats of quitting and going into the film industry again. It's tiring at this point.”

That had been one argument with Lucinda he will never forget.

He guides her out of the office into the hall and down to the party. They enter as quietly as they had managed to leave and he watches Lucinda begin her turn around the room, exchanging quick words with everyone she deemed important enough to say good-bye to.

Noah takes a deep breath and starts to mingle, smiles politely at the women who give him inviting looks, laughs at the jokes he's heard a million times, discusses policies with a group of conservatives that barely restrained from insulting him, and plans what he's going to do the whole time. He'll have to stay until the end, but once everything is taken care of, he knows what he'll need to do.

He's going to look for Luke Grimaldi.

  


 

“Have you lost your fucking mind?”

Noah had called that perfectly.

“Casey.”

“No, don't Casey me.” His best friend and campaign manager throws him a furious glare as he paces back and forth across Noah's hotel room. Casey Hughes has never been known for his calm, which Noah thinks should make him a bad investment as far as politics, but he's loyal and when he cares, it's like nothing else to watch him make things happen. His law degree is good to have around for those sticky times they'd managed to get into in the past. “This is stupid.”

“All I asked you to do is find out where Luke – actually he's probably going by Luciano Grimaldi – is staying. That's it.”

“Right.” Casey crosses his arms and stares at him. “That's all.”

Noah turns his head when Reg walk in the door, grins at the roll of eyes he gives Casey behind his back before sitting just a seat away from Noah on the couch. “What is your issue right now, Case? It's not like Noah asks us for a lot. Most days.”

Casey snorts.

Noah glares at him this time. “Look, I just want to find out why he was there tonight.”

“Oh, that's easy. He used to help his father run Grimaldi Shipping but they had a falling out not too long ago and it looks like Luke decided to pursue his passion for writing.”

Casey and Noah turn to look at Reg who makes an insulted face, saying, “It's my job to know these things.”

“What kind of writing?”

Reg pulls open the notebook Noah hadn't noticed he was carrying, shuffling through a few pages before starting to read. “Says here he majored in business but minored in journalism.” He looks up at them. “I'm going to assume he's going to try his hand at the politics arena.”

Noah feels the burn of an idea in the back of his mind. It must show on his face because Casey starts to shake his head.

“No. Whatever it is, no.”

“You don't even know what I was going to say.”

“I don't care.”

Noah ignores him and turns to Reg. “We still looking for a speech writer, right?” They'd lost theirs to graduate school. He smiles at Reg's nod, says, “Find out if we have the budget for one.” Reg pauses for a second looking over at Casey's angry scowl before getting up.

“I'll see what I can scrounge up.”

“Don't try too hard.” Casey yells over his shoulder, turning back to Noah. “Why are you doing this?”

Noah looks away when he answers. “Because I owe Lucinda everything.”

“So?”

“She wants her grandson. Maybe I can help make that happen.”

Casey shakes his head. “You said yourself he didn't want anything to do with her. With any of them.”

“That's because he doesn't know them.”

“Maybe he doesn't want to know them, Noah.” Casey says softly. “We don't know anything about him except that he was raised by Damian Grimaldi. Which right there is not the best reference a guy could have.”

Noah stares at Casey. “You’re judging him for his father? Really?” He waves at himself and Casey's stance relaxes, his face taking on that exasperated best friend expression he does so well.

“It's not the same thing.”

He thinks it is.

“I just want to talk to the guy, Casey. Nothing shady here. Plain and simple information.”

“Uh-huh.”

Casey knows him too well.

“So the fact that he's hot and you were completely lusting after him at the party has nothing to do with it?”

Noah schools his face. “Not a thing.”

They stare at each other for several moments and then Casey lets out an undignified snort, turning to pick up some papers.

“Yeah. You need to work on that poker face if you're planning to make it anywhere in politics, Mayer.”

Noah watches him walk away and takes in a deep breath. He knows Casey will do as he asks.

All he has to do now is figure out a way to get Luke to agree to come work for him. Then he can buy enough to time to come up with a plan to give him back to the Lucinda and the Snyders.

 

  


 

Luke lets himself into his hotel room, tossing the key card on the table by the door. He takes off his suit jacket, loosens his tie and tries to calm his brain. But it isn’t working, because everything that could have gone wrong tonight, did.

It started with Mayer noticing him, which _fuck_ , how did that even happen? Luke had shadowed and tracked Mayer for two weeks before making an appearance at the benefit. He knew what restaurants he ate at, what clubs he frequented with his friends and people in his campaign party to unwind and relax. Luke had been to them all, studied his movements, learned his habits and mannerisms. He had spent hours memorizing his file and his profile. He had known about the Lucinda connection almost from the very beginning, but he had no idea how deep it went. He had figured that Lucinda was just a supporter and a backer. She backed many projects, many politicians and clients. Mayer was supposed to be a drop in the ocean for her. But he noticed their interaction today and there were things there he was missing, some more information he hadn’t been privy to. They had more than just a working relationship and Luke needed to know more about that as soon as possible.

He had been planning to approach Mayer, casually chat him up. Be another random, inconspicuous stranger interested in the political platform Mayer was trying to build and accomplish.

 _Noah_ , his brain helpfully supplies for him, _he told you to call him Noah_.

“Shut up,” Luke bites back. He runs an agitated hand through his hair. He thought he had done a good job blending in, but Noah saw him, Noah _approached_ him first, when it was supposed to be the other way around. Up until tonight, Luke thought his greatest challenge would be getting Noah to come home with him when the time was right. He’s seen Noah at the clubs, seen how many times he’s been approached, and how many times he turns down each invitation. Luke had been intrigued, and to be perfectly honest, he had wanted the challenge.

Luke’s been seducing men since he knew he preferred them. He has it down to an art form. He already had a plan. Already figured out how to ditch Noah’s twenty-four-seven surveillance, already knew how to duck them out of a place unseen. He wasn’t going to sleep with him, no. Luke never mixes business with pleasure. But he was going to get him alone so he could do his job. He had the poison picked out, knew when and how he was going to administer it. It was going to be a quick, simple, _quiet_ kill. And Luke was going to slip out unnoticed, undetected, _faceless_.

But now he has a face. Now, Noah _knows_ him. And damn it, when did he start becoming Noah in his head?

“Shit,” Luke mutters as he flops down on the bed. He hadn’t completely factored in the Lucinda matter either. He at least had the foresight to make sure Lucinda would be out of town, had made sure of her schedule before he decided to attend the benefit. But that backfired as well.

He has to come up with an entire new plan. He has to assume Noah is now asking all these questions about him to Lucinda. Has to assume Noah is going to run a background check on him, figure out why Luke is in Chicago in the first place. Luke already has a story for that, and he gives himself a moment to think he hasn’t been completely stupid. The moment is brief. Noah is probably already asking around, getting more people involved, getting the _Snyders_ involved. And that thought is enough to cause his stomach to revolt so badly, he’s half-afraid he might throw up.

He’s too involved now. Everything is too personal. He isn’t on the outside anymore looking in, where he can disappear afterward and force himself to forget about it the next day.

He starts to look around for his cell phone and finds it in his discarded suit jacket. He yanks it out, placing a call to Damian. He wonders if his father knows how deep Lucinda’s involvement is in Noah’s life. Wonders if he kept it from Luke for a reason, wonders why the hell he’d send Luke on this assignment in the first place if he knew how close it’d put him with the Snyders.

He listens to the ringing on the other end and waits for Damian to pick up, a roaring in his ears.

 

  


 

Luke’s been staring but not really seeing the blank television screen across from his hotel bed. It feels like it’s been hours but in reality only ten minutes since he got off the phone with his father.

_He knew._

Damian had known how deep Lucinda’s involvement was with Noah Mayer. But Luke had started yelling before Damian could elaborate and then promptly had asked to be taken off the case.

_”I cannot do that, Luciano,” Damian says._

_“Why the hell not?!”_

_“You will not speak to me that way.” Damian’s tone is even but there is a dangerous undercurrent in his voice that causes Luke’s jaw to clench and he bites down on his tongue. Hard._

_“Yes, sir.” A beat. “I’ve been compromised, protocol states that I—”_

_“I am well aware of the regulations but you are staying on this case.”_

_Luke’s hand tightens around the phone. “I don’t understand.”_

_“You committed to this assignment and you will do your job. Or have you forgotten about our arrangement?”_

_There’s a burn deep in Luke’s gut that flares. “But you knew. You knew how close Mayer was with the Snyders, why would you assign me to this case?”_

_Damian sighs and for the first time since their conversation started, he sounds regretful. “If it’s any consolation I had tried to explain to them about the…situation. I fought for you to_ not _be put on this case. But they could not be persuaded.”_

_“Why not?”_

_“Because past misgivings have no bearing on your job at hand. At least, according to them. And the people who want Mayer dead had gone through a great deal to contact The Company and had asked for the best. The Company specifically wanted you assigned to this case.”_

_“I still don’t understand.”_

_“You are the best, Luciano.”_

_The statement is made so matter of fact, so boldly, it causes Luke to stop pacing and stand completely still, the burn in his stomach reaches boiling point, and he really does feel like he’s going to throw up._

_He swallows. “Dad. If you couldn’t persuade them to not put me on this case, a request that’s pretty standard, how are you going to talk to them about—”_

_“That is an entirely different situation, Luciano,” Damian interrupts him._

_“But I—”_

_“We will discuss this again after you have completed your assignment.” Damian doesn’t let him get a word in and Luke knows the conversation is over. “Now, have you thought about your alternative plan?”_

_“No, not yet.”_

_“Don’t be idle. How long have we been talking?”_

_Luke looks at the timestamp on the phone. “About twenty minutes.”_

_“You know what to do.” And the line goes dead._

_Luke takes the phone from his ear and goes through the process of removing the SIM card. He breaks it in half and walks to the bathroom, flushing it down the toilet._

Luke blinks and goes to grab the other phone he had bought as soon as he landed in Chicago. His numbers dial automatically without thinking.

“Belle Tower I-682”

“Pyramid NCC-1701 , _ballerina_.”

“I told you not to call me that, _Luke_. And shit, you’re not supposed to even be calling me at all. What happened?”

There’s a hint of urgency and real concern in Zoe’s voice and it should stress Luke out more but instead it calms him. He really needs someone to talk to right now.

“I fucked up, Zo.”

“Tell me.” Her voice is soft and Luke recounts the past events to her as quickly and as detailed as he can. Afterward, he takes a deep breath, waiting for Zoe to yell at him.

She doesn’t disappoint. “Oh my god. You are so fucking dumb.”

Luke winces.

“First of all, why the hell did you use your real name?”

Luke sighs. He’d been expecting that one. “You know I rarely do. But this is a delicate case, it required a bit more…of a hands-on, personal approach.”

“Oh yeah, this is about as personal as it’s going to get, cousin.”

“Zoe, not helping. Really. And you know I’ve had my cover story on what my ‘real’ job is for years. And Noah is in the political field, he’s going to have resources at his disposal to have me checked out. Plus, this assignment was supposed to be routine.”

But Zoe doesn’t relent. “And _why_ was your strategy to kill him face to face? What happened to ‘I must be hundreds of feet away from my target at all times’ Luke Grimaldi?”

“I _told_ you. This case is different. Noah has—”

“Oh, so he has an actual name now?” Zoe interrupts him.

Luke ignores her and continues like she hadn’t spoken.

“—several people watching the parameters around him at all times. There was no way this would be a long-range kill, they would see it coming from miles away. I had to get in close, but it had to be subtle. No one but Noah was supposed to know who I was. But _she_ was there.”

There’s a beat of silence. Then, “You’re compromised.”

“I am.”

“And Damian won’t take you off the case.”

“He won’t.”

“Luke, what are you going to do?” There’s some real fear in her voice now, and Luke wishes he could do something to take it away.

“I don’t know.”

Zoe takes a deep breath. “How can I help?”

Luke thinks for a moment before pulling out his laptop. “I actually need you to do some research for me, more than I can do over here on my own, I don’t want to risk a trace.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to find out everything you can about Noah Mayer and his relationship with Lucinda Walsh and the Snyders. I know a lot but not enough and my dad can’t tell me everything. Or won’t tell me everything, I’m not so sure anymore.”

“Okay, I think I can do that.”

“And I need for you to keep switching connections. I’m the only one who knows this number, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, the last thing I want is The Company or my dad finding out I’m going beyond the assignment.” He can literally feel Zoe’s tension all the way from New York. “Zoe—”

“—I just don’t like this, Luke. I want you to be okay.”

“I will be.”

“Luke.”

_“I will be.”_

Zoe is silent for a few more seconds before giving him a new number, and the line goes dead once more. Luke walks to the bathroom again, takes out the SIM card, breaks it and flushes it. He watches the water swirl and disappear, a plan formulating in his head.

 

  


 

He's not fond of hospitals. Probably because he spent the better part of a year forced to live in one, so anytime he steps foot inside, all those helpless feelings from that time when he thought his life was over come flooding back. He'd learned to deal with it during his time with Reid. When you dated a doctor it was hard not to end up in a hospital a good chunk of the time.

Well, no, Noah thinks, if you date _Reid_ you can't help but do that. He's pretty sure normal doctors don't live and breathe their jobs like his ex does.

“ _Yeah, but none of them are as good as I am.”_

Noah smiles into his coffee cup, sipping slowly, drumming his fingers against the table top, flicking his gaze between the cafeteria doors and his watch. He'd cleared his afternoon schedule because he'd known there was no way Reid would be on time. Once that would have made Noah angry but now it's strangely endearing.

That's difference between friendship and coupledom, he guesses.

“How many times have I told you that the poison they call coffee in this place is going to kill you? I didn't save your life to have you throw it away for a caffeine fix.”

Noah grins as he looks up at Reid hovering near the edge of this table, raises an eyebrow. “Maybe you should think about that before you keep me waiting for hours.”

“I'm twenty minutes late, Noah.”

“Today, sure. It's a miracle, really.” He shows Reid the book he'd brought with him, holds back a laugh at the way his eyes narrow at Noah. “It's okay, though. I come prepared to entertain myself.”

Reid glares, sits across from Noah, leaning his elbows on the table. “Were you _this_ annoying when we were together? What the hell did I see in you?”

Noah grins, points at Reid. “You're stealing my lines, Oliver.” There's a quick flash of a smile that still manages to make his fingers tingle a little. He knows that what he feels for Reid now is softer than when they'd been something more. Noah can't ever be sure if it had ever been anything other than hero worship turned to what he thought was love. Thinks it probably was. But that was in their past and now Reid was the person Noah counted on to tell him what he needed to hear.

Not what he _wanted_ but what he _needed_.

“Are you going to tell me what this impromptu visit is all about or am I going to have to spend my precious lunch hour guessing?” Reid leans back in his chair, hands lacing behind his head as he stares at Noah. “And don't try to flatter me with any bull about just wanting to see me. We have a dinner date on Wednesday so this is something else.”

Noah laughs softly, shakes his head and meets Reid's curious eyes. “That's still really annoying.”

Reid shrugs, waving his hand at Noah to start talking as he grabs his coffee and gulps it down. “Spit it out already.”

He tells Reid about Luke. The fact that Noah had liked him from the moment he saw him (he skips most of his internal thoughts there because, well, he's pretty sure he never wants to hear about Reid with other people either), that they'd made a connection, what had gone down when Lucinda had shown up and revealed who Luke really was, and how Noah feels responsible for it all.

“Don't be stupid. You didn't make him react that way, Noah. That's on him.” Reid leans forward, resting his elbows on the table as he studies him. “Lucinda could have handled that better, maybe, but there wasn't anything you could do.”

Noah nods, looks away and swallows hard. “I don't know about that. I could have --”

“What? Become psychic and known who he was before Lucinda saw him? Or he saw her?” Reid questions, one eyebrow raising and his eyes soften when Noah doesn't respond. “Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, Mayer, but you're only human. You could not have known, so stop this shit with the blame.”

His lips turn up in a half smile and Noah wonders if Reid ever listens to what he says. Sometimes he thinks he still carries his own guilt for everything that went down between them. “Pot. Kettle.”

Reid rolls his eyes. “That's not the same thing. Besides, we aren't talking about me. This is about you. Or more accurately, this is about your guilt over taking Luke's place with Lucinda and the Snyders.”

Noah glances up, shocked that Reid had hit on what the problem was so quickly.

“Give me a little credit here. I know you pretty well. You've always had that issue, Noah. Now it's in your face.” Reid takes a deep breath, keeping his gaze just over Noah's shoulder. “You've got something you want to ask. Go ahead.”

He snorts. “It's really fucking scary how you do that.”

“Deal with it. Now ask.”

Noah nods, folds his hands together and stares at them. “I have a plan.”

“Of course you do.”

Noah ignores that as he continues to talk. “The thing is – despite what you think – I owe Lucinda everything I have. Everything I've lived. She gave that to me.” He meets Reid's eyes. “Even you. We'd never have met if she hadn't found you.”

Reid doesn't respond but Noah sees his face lose some of its sharpness.

“I want to give her something back.”

“You plan to give her Luke? I'm pretty sure he's not going to be on board for that, Noah. From what you've told me, he has no interest in her or your family.”

He leans his chin on one hand, looks up at Reid as he makes a face. “Yeah. That's kind of the problem, Reid. I need help figuring out how to make him want to.”

“I'm thinking unless you've got some mind control skills I don't know about that's not going to happen.”

Noah bites his lip. “He's looking for a job.”

It takes Reid a second to understand, but when he does, Noah almost laughs at the comical disbelieving glare he sends him.

“You're going to offer him a job?”

“He's a writer. We need a one for the campaign.”

Reid lays one hand palm up in the air. “How is that going to get him closer to Lucinda or the Snyders?”

Noah sighs, refrains from rolling his eyes. “I could work on him, you know? Talk Lucinda and the family up. Maybe arrange some meetings.”

“You're smarter than this, Noah.”

Noah narrows his gaze at Reid. “Exactly. I think it could work but even if it doesn't, I have to try. I owe them that much.”

“Then why are you asking me about it.”

“I just needed someone to be my objective party. I wasn't looking for permission.”

He watches Reid rub one hand over his face, shaking his head and muttering words Noah is pretty sure he doesn't actually want to understand. When he meets Noah's eyes, he sighs deeply, his shoulders a little lower than normal. “There's nothing I can say to change your mind, I know that. But just – don't expect miracles and – be careful, Noah. You don't know this guy at all.”

_“Paging Doctor Oliver to ER. Doctor Oliver to ER, stat.”_

Noah looks up at the ceiling then grins back at Reid, standing with him. “The work of a genius is never finished.”

Reid nods seriously. “It's a curse.”

He laughs at that, grabs Reid by the shoulders for a quick hug, drops a kiss on his temple before pulling away. “Go. Save some lives or whatever it is you do. I'll see you Wednesday.”

“Right. You can cry to me when your plan fails completely.” Reid says over his shoulder as he walks toward the cafeteria doors.

“Oh, have a little faith in me, Oliver. You know I always get my man.” Noah calls out as the doors swing shut, grinning.

This plan is going to work.

 

  


 

He hasn't been this nervous in a long time. Part of his job, his ambitions, requires him to speak to a large number of people in groups and individually. Noah isn't sure why it's always been easier for him to work a crowd. He can talk for hours _at_ them but when he needs to talk _with_ them, it makes his stomach churn unpleasantly. Holden's theory is that Noah cares too much about what people think about him in general and seeing someone's face close up brings their thoughts clearly to him.

Noah figures that's as good of a theory as anything else.

Mostly, he does well.

Standing in front of Luke's suite, though, his gut burns and he's probably going to throw up while trying to convince Luke to come work for him. That's not going to earn him points. He braces himself before knocking, taking a deep breath like his therapist taught him. He waits several seconds then raises his fist to knock again when the door swings open and Luke is staring at him.

Noah practiced his smiles when he first decided to get involved in the film business. Back before the accident had changed his life so drastically, he'd known that mustering a sincere persona was a must. It wasn't that hard for him because he was, for the most part, sincere in what he said and did. Honesty comes easily to Noah despite having been raised by Lucinda Walsh. He spent months mastering what he should look like when talking to someone, how to wield his quiet kind of charm and never lose the realness behind it.

Luke's mouth is a thin line of anger and it barely opens when he speaks. “Mayer.”

He works those skills at this moment, aiming a pleasant and sincere smile at Luke. “Hi, Mr. Grimaldi. May I come in for a moment?”

Luke starts to shake his head, glancing behind him as he closes the door some but Noah is ready for that.

“It's not going to take me long to talk with you. Five minutes and then I promise to leave.”

He can see Luke's internal struggle as they stand in the doorway. There's a shift in the air and Luke nods, steps back and lets him in.

Noah does a little victory dance in his head. Getting inside Luke's room was half the battle. Now he needs to talk fast before he gets kicked out. The door latches closed behind him but he doesn't turn to look, his gaze scanning the suite. He smiles at the mess of clothes on the couch and chairs, the newspaper strewn over the tables and it reminds him so much of Casey . He's going to take that as sign that this is a good idea.

“Is there something you wanted? Or did you just come by to evaluate my housekeeping skills?”

Noah glances at Luke, who has his arms crossed, standing not two feet from the door.

“There is actually an issue I'd like to discuss with you, Mr. Grimaldi.”

Luke makes a face, shakes his head. “Don't call me that. Please. Just – that's my father's name.”

Noah scores another point in his favor. “Understood. Luke, it is.”

Luke nods then waits for Noah to talk, leaning his hip against the desk in what is supposed to be a casual pose but is anything of the sort. Noah doesn't bother to sit when he pulls the file from his briefcase, handing it out to Luke who hesitates a moment before grabbing it. He opens the folder, scanning the pages quickly, his brow furrowing as he reads. Then he meets Noah's eyes. “I don't think I understand what this is.”

Noah tilts his head as he watches Luke re-read the document. “I think it's pretty self-explanatory.” He clasps his hands behind his back to hide the tremors and tries for another smile. His nerves are rattled being this close to Luke. He can smell the cologne he uses and it's making Noah a little dizzy. Luke is wearing a tight Henley that defines the muscles in his shoulders and chest. His jeans ride low on his hips, bare feet digging into the carpet.

Noah’s never been so fucking turned on in his life. His chest is burning with want, throbbing, spreading from there down to his groin and beyond.

He clears his throat, looking anywhere but at Luke because the needs to taste the skin on Luke's neck is powerful enough to make his knees a little weak. Noah is grateful that he learned to bullshit with the best. “It came to my attention that you're looking for a job. Writing, correct?”

Luke freezes for a split second before nodding, eyes still on the documents in his hands.

“I'm looking a speech writer. Our last one ran off to get his PhD, for which I can't blame him, since it was a pretty thankless job despite the fair pay. Long hours, lots of traveling, no social life.”

Luke glances up, smirks, and Noah feels a new wave of desire crash over his senses.

“If that's your pitch then you really need to reconsider politics because it kind of sucked.”

The humor is so unexpected that Noah laughs in surprise, grinning at Luke. “See? This is why I need someone to tell me what to say. I want you to come work with me.”

Something dark passes over Luke's face and Noah stops completely. He doesn't want to cause anyone pain. Especially not Luke. “I know that this is strange. This offer coming out of left field. But – I like you, Luke. You seem smart and funny. You're looking for a job and I can help with that.”

“Uh-huh. So, this is only all about my qualifications as a writer and you wanting to help with that? You're telling me it has nothing to do with your patroness Walsh?” The sneer in Luke's voice is thick and he gives Noah an ugly look as he turns to drop the file on the table.

Noah shrugs. “I'm not going to lie and say you don't have to deal with Lucinda – the closest thing I have to a mother , so if you could refrain from the snide remarks while I'm around I'd appreciate it – or the rest of my family. I tend to see them often. But that's not the reason I'm asking.”

Luke narrows his eyes.

“You need a job. I can provide one. Like, I said I like you.”

“And that's it?”

“You're not bad to look at so that's another point in your favor.”

He leaves Luke's speechless and it's another bit of a victory that he enjoys. He moves past Luke, brushing against his arm and stopping right in front of the other man. “I'm not going to beg here, Luke. And I understand why you would need time to think about it. I get that this isn't the ideal situation, but we could work well together.” He watches Luke swallow, feels a thrill run through his body, that pang of want thrumming under his skim. “It's only for a few months, the pay is probably not as great as you'd like, but the experience is worth more. I believe in what I do. It's not just talk with me. I'd like you on board.”

He opens the door, meeting Luke's eyes as he stops in the entrance way and grins. “I promise to flirt shamelessly with you, the dinners that Emma sends over to headquarters are spectacular, and it's more fun than you can imagine to rattle some cages.”

Luke tries to hide his smile but Noah can see the corners of his mouth quirking up.

“Come on, Luciano. Take a chance. Be brave.”

With that he walks the rest of the way out of the door, shutting it behind him with a quiet snick and leaning against it, head resting against the wood.

Noah closes his eyes and breathes deep.

The hardest part was done...now he just needed to wait for an answer.

 

  


 

Luke stands in the shower, the water as hot as he can take it. His arm is braced against the tiles in front of him and he rests his forehead against it, letting the spray wash over his body. He tries to relax but fails. He knows he has a decision to make. A big one. One that can go in his favor or one that can potentially fuck up the entire assignment.

Noah’s offer.

Noah had surprised him again. Luke was prepared for Noah to research him, look up his background, yes. But he wasn’t prepared for Noah to offer him a _job_. Half of him wants to take it, seize the opportunity because he didn’t expect to get one so easily. The other half of him is setting off alarm bells in his head. He had planned to “casually” be in one of the usual places Noah frequents. And then work his way back into Noah’s good graces. He hadn’t expected for Noah to track him down at his hotel and then ask him to be his speech writer, of all things. Noah made a pretty convincing argument. But if Luke really lets himself think about it, there are so many more reasons in a list of This Is A Really Bad Idea of reasons to turn Noah’s offer down than to take it.

The number one reason on top of that list being it will put him closer to the Snyders than he already is. Second, it will put his face right smack in the middle of the political campaign. Not only will soon-to-be Senator Grayson know who he is, but so will Noah’s managers, friends, and other co-workers.

Another reason being his reaction to Noah whenever he’s around. He’d even called him Luciano and Luke didn’t blink an eye or bristle like he usually does when people call him by his given name. And there’s the almost physical pull when Noah’s near him, never in his personal space but close enough that Luke can _feel_ him, and he has to fight not to mold himself against Noah. To feel that long body, how hard it’d be against his, feel his fingers around that narrow waist and find out if Noah’s hands are as strong as they look. Luke shakes his head violently, drops of water going everywhere.

Because there are a hundred more reasons why This Is A Really Bad Idea.

The letters are loud and bold and capitalized in his head and Luke shivers. He doesn’t know if it’s from the decision he has to make or from the water going to just shy of scalding hot to freezing. He doesn’t remember how long he’s been standing there, but his fingers are now wrinkly and pruney and he shuts off the spray and gets out. As he’s walking back into the bedroom he hears his phone ding and knows it’s Zoe. He reads the text and memorizes it before deleting it. He tells himself he’s going to wait a little bit longer to see what Zoe digs up about Noah before he gets back to him about the job. But as he’s putting on a fresh t-shirt, he already knows what his decision is going to be. Luke quiets the voice in his head that tells him there really wasn’t a decision to make in the first place.

 

  


 

“We are not seriously having this conversation again, Casey.” Noah points at his friend as he enters his office, one hand balancing his morning coffee and bagel, the other one holding tight on his briefcase. Traffic was hell and he's running almost half an hour behind. He has two meetings this morning, lunch with Lucinda, a speech to prepare for the Gay-Straight Alliance Foundation dinner at the end of the week, and he hasn't even gotten to the new budget plans that Reg left on his desk two days ago.

“If you're still insisting on letting that guy get close to you, then yeah, we have a problem.”

Noah rolls his eyes. “Would you stop that? I offered Luke a job. Days ago. He hasn't responded yet if you haven't noticed. I'm not sure he ever will.” The thought depresses him because that had been his best idea and it looks like it was a flop.

Casey snorts.

“Make up your mind. Are you pissed that he _will_ or he _won't_ take the job?”

“I'm pissed that you offered it to him without talking to me about it.”

He pulls papers out of his briefcase, throwing them down on his desk with more force than necessary. He loves Casey like a brother but sometimes he wants to strange him. “I _did_ tell you. If I recall, I told you before I even drew up the contract.”

“And I said it was a bad idea.”

Noah nods. “To which I responded that I appreciate your opinion but I was going to offer Luke the job regardless. It's my decision, Casey.”

His friend sighs loudly, runs a hand over his face, scrubbing at his jaw roughly. It's a patented Casey move, one he has whenever he's annoyed. “I don't trust him.”

“You don't _know_ him, Casey.”

“Exactly.” Casey says, hands extended out toward Noah. “You don't either. That's the problem. We have no idea what he's like. He was raised by a very bad man, Noah.”

Noah freezes, eyes downcast as he shuffles papers, voice quiet. “So was I.” He doesn't want to meet Casey's eyes, knows without looking that his friend is realizing more than Noah wanted him to. “I managed not to let that damage me too much. Maybe we should give Luke the benefit of the doubt about that, too.”

“It's not the same thing, Noah. You got away from your father. You found Lucinda. Or she found you. Luke – he's been exposed to the kind of hate and evil that warps people. And he wasn't lucky enough to get away from it.”

“And we blame him for that?”

“No,” Casey says softly, placing his hands on Noah's desk and leaning down, “of course not. But that doesn't mean it's going to be okay if he ends up being just like them.” He bends a little to try and catch Noah's eyes. “I just don't want you hurt.”

Noah looks at him and gives him a real smile. “Don't worry about me so much, Case. You know I can take care of myself.”

Casey rolls his eyes. “Yeah. I know. You will survive.”

This time Noah grins and opens his mouth to start singing but Casey throws his hands up to his ears. “Don't!” He walks back out the door that way and Noah laughs as he watches him go. Turning his attention back to the figures on the stack of sheets on his desk, he cuts off his laughter and frowns.

Numbers were never his strong suit. He did well, of course, because it was expected but he'd never had that quick take to them that others might. He was grateful to have Reg, whose head for numbers had been his saving grace when he started all of this, and who managed to break it down for Noah where he didn't feel so lost when he looked at them.

There was a reason he'd always been more artistically inclined.

“They aren't going to bite your hand off or anything.”

Noah startles at the unexpected voice and he can feel his eyes widen when they focus on Luke looming in the doorway, dressed impeccably in a suit that would probably cost Noah a month's salary. (He doesn't think about the fact that he could very well afford it if he let Lucinda give him the inheritance she's holding for him but that wasn't going to happen. It didn't belong to him.) He rises to his feet, unconsciously smoothing out the plain white dress shirt he's wearing and smiles at Luke.

“Hi, Luke. I didn't think I'd see you.”

“You ever hear of the three-day rule, Noah?”

Luke raises an eyebrow, a teasing light in his eyes and Noah's stomach swoops like it'd done when he was twelve years old and Ben Foster had talked to him for the first time. A crush on his possible new employee would be a bad idea. A crush on his possible new employee who happens to be his faux family's long-lost son, the one whose place he's been holding for half his life, is a terrible, horrible, no-good idea.

He blinks and finds Luke giving him a very amused stare. Noah realizes he been gaping like an idiot. Shaking his head, he walks around his desk, hand extended and when Luke grips it, that thrill shoots up his arm and into his chest. Luke's eyes widen a little and he pulls his hands away quickly. Noah's pulse picks up speed and he stops himself from letting out an undignified noise.

He knows Luke feels it, too. That's all he can really think at the moment. Then he remembers why he's doing this and shoves that out of the way. This is about Lucinda. And Holden. The family that deserves to have their son back. He musters up a smile, doesn't even have to fake it and makes a fist, raising it slowly in the air.

“Does this mean what I think?”

Luke tries to suppress a grin but Noah can make out the dimples and of course the guy has dimples too because he wasn't gorgeous enough. “I will take you up on your offer with two conditions.”

Noah lowers his hand and nods at Luke. “Hit it.”

“One is that we agree to make this a temporary position only.” Noah frowns and Luke holds a hand up to stop whatever he's about to say. “Look, Noah, we don't know if we can work together. Our personalities might clash and then we'll end up being stuck with each other for a long contract. Have your people draw up a different one. Three months. That gets us up to the election, right? We can extend it after that.”

Noah has to agree that it's a good plan. He's pretty sure that he'll have no problem wanting to keep Luke.

“And number two?”

Luke's face hardens suddenly and Noah knows what this condition is going to be about. “You promise not to set me up. I don't want to get to know Lucinda Walsh or her family.” He looks at Noah and his expression softens. “Except for you, obviously but that's completely different. I have my reasons for this. If this is a deal breaker then I'll go right now.”

Noah studies Luke, the demeanor of cold indifference he tries to portray when it comes to the subject of his estranged family, and he can see past it. There's more anger and sadness than there is hate or plain apathy. He won't push him, though. Not when Luke is so close to saying yes.

“I won't tell them to say away from me, Luke. I can't. They're my family, too. But I can promise that I won't come up with ways to force you to be in their presence. And if I know they'll be anywhere you'll be I will let you know. I will never blindside you like that. Okay?”

Luke seems doubtful and Noah raises his hand up, three finger salute at the ready. “Boy Scout's honor.”

That gets him a smile even as Luke rolls his eyes, muttering. “Of course you were a Boy Scout.”

Noah grins and inflates his chest with pride. “I was troop leader, man.” That does get him a laugh and he sticks his hand out again. “So we have a deal?”

There's just the slightest pause and then Luke's warm hand is in his one more time, that energy that pulses between them fills the space of the room, and Noah breathes through it. He will do his best to ignore the want that gnaws at him. He'll concentrate on his goal: changing Luke's mind about his family.

He lets Luke's hand fall free and then waves toward his door. “You ready to get to work? I've got time to give you a tour of the bullpen and introduce you around.” His heart trips over itself when Luke grins his way, blond hair falling across his eyes and nods.

“I'm ready.”

 

  


 

Luke settles into his new job easier than he thought he would. The atmosphere is calm and familiar. Despite everything, Luke really _does_ have a degree in business (how he got that degree is another story) and he really does know how to run one. His minor in journalism will help him write the flowery speeches edged with debate he’s required to do. Luke Grimaldi was born to argue. Settling into his new office is not complicated.

If only the people were as easy.

The people closest to Noah don’t trust him and Luke can’t say he really blames them. He’s not so fond of them either. Casey Hughes got on his nerves the moment he met him. But that also might have had to do with Hughes outright glaring at him before Luke even had a chance to extend his hand for a greeting. He had watched as Noah nervously tried to break the tension by showing him around and cracking jokes, but Luke hadn’t cared. He won’t be around long enough to have to make nice with these people.

Luke had initially protested about having his own office (the one thing he and Hughes had agreed upon) but Noah had insisted that all the people directly working on his campaign got to have one. Luke had relented after only a little of cajoling from Noah, if only to bask in how red Hughes’s face got when he accepted.

He spends the day going over Noah’s campaign and catching up on everything he missed, filling his mind up with information he’ll have no use for in the future. Though Luke can argue with the best of them until ears bleed, he’s never been a fan of politicians. Which Luke supposes makes him a hypocrite, considering his actual line of work. But he’s never involved himself in the politics of The Company. Luke is good at taking orders, he’s never thought to question them, always turned a blind eye. It helped him sleep better at night. Until recently. But even now, he’s reluctant to be this involved, to be up close and personal with the inner workings of the political field and all the corruption that comes with it.

And then there’s Noah. He feels disgusted with himself. Lusting after a man who is stealing money, probably from his own campaign, to fund prostitution rings that involve smuggling immigrants from god knows how many countries? Rage burns through his bloodstream, and he lets it. It centers him and refuels his determination to get this job done as quickly as he can. The sooner he does, the sooner he can report back and be one step closer to finally getting out, being free.

There’s an insistent nudge in the back of his mind that tells him it’s not going to be easy, The Company is not going to let him go without a fight. But Luke ignores it, carefully pushes it back for later. _One thing at a time,_ he tells himself. He can’t afford to get distracted now.

If he hadn’t known already that he had the worst karma ever, the universe reminds him when he hears a slight knock on his open office door and Noah enters, a friendly smile on his face.

Luke really hates himself for wanting to smile back.

“Hey, just wanted to see how you were settling in.”

Luke focuses on the papers in front of him, shuffling them around. _Damn it, those eyes are blue._ He’s always had a thing for blue eyes. _Damn it_ , Luke’s brain helpfully repeats for him.

“Settling in just fine, thanks for asking.”

“Well, it’s getting pretty close to dinner time. I was wondering if you wanted to join me? There’s a café just one block over, they serve a mean tuna melt.” Noah smiles bigger. “Also, if you had any questions, I can probably answer them.”

“I actually already have plans.”

Noah continues to stare at him and Luke is annoyed that it makes him fidget.

“And I don’t have any questions right now.” Luke hopes that if he keeps his responses short and simple, Noah will get the hint.

Noah’s eyes dim but his smile stays, and if it’s a little smaller than before, Luke decides he doesn’t notice. “All right, I’ll just have to ask you again tomorrow then.” He grins. “But if you don’t have any questions for me, I have one for you.”

Luke raises an eyebrow in curiosity before he can stop himself. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I hope this isn’t too personal, but since you decided to take the job, and it’ll be a few months at the very least, are you planning on staying anywhere else besides the hotel?”

 _Oh_.

Luke hadn’t thought about Noah caring where he stayed. Of course he can’t tell Noah that it doesn’t matter, because he’ll be long gone before he’ll need to look for alternative living arrangements.

“So far I have no plans staying anywhere else. The hotel is fine for now.”

Noah drops his gaze towards the floor and his hand goes to rub the back of his neck. “Well, if you ever get sick of room service, I know someone who’s moving out west and looking to sublet. So, you know, just in case…”

He trails off and starts to look a bit sheepish and Luke definitely does not find it adorable. At all. He really _does not_.

“Oh.” Luke clears his throat. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Noah gives him another small smile before walking out the door.

Luke runs a hand through his hair after he leaves and then tugs sharply at it, relishing the sharp pain in his scalp. He heads back to his hotel and after he’s settled, he calls Zoe.

“Tell me you got something more solid this time around,” he says as soon as she answers.

“Wow, cousin. Way to breach code protocol. What if I was someone else?”

Luke sighs, not really wanting to deal with this but she’s right. “I know, I’m sorry. I’ve been kind of...off lately. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Zoe is silent for a moment and Luke knows she’s thinking whether or not it’s worth getting into it with him with the little time they had to talk. Mercifully she lets it go. For now.

“Noah Mayer ran away from home when he was about eight years old. There’s no record anywhere as to why. But he was in and out of foster homes until he was about twelve. He got in a little bit of trouble here and there, mostly from running away and stealing food. His foster parents didn’t think much of him. Refused to tell anyone his real name until he was taken in by Lucinda Walsh. I believe he was around thirteen at the time. From then on, there is nothing but exemplary records of him. Graduated at the top of his class in high school and went on to graduate with honors at Northwestern.”

Luke knew about the last parts but not the rest before. “So. Basically he was raised by the Snyders.”

“That’s what I’m assuming, yeah. Oh, and he got into an accident when he was around twenty, a year before he graduated. Left him blind for about a year.”

“Are you serious?”

“No, I’m making it up.”

“Shut up. That wasn’t in the file I was given either, and it didn’t come up in any of the research I had access to. But you would think anything that big would show up in his general medical records.”

“Well, he was raised by a pretty influential family. Getting access to those records with the limited resources you have now would be pretty hard. That’s why you got me, the most amazing person ever.”

Luke ignores that and says, “It must have taken a lot, to get his sight back.”

“Yeah, looks like they shelled out the big bucks, hired the best doctor in the damn country.”

Luke feels a twist in his heart that he tries his damn best to ignore too. Noah’s really important to the Snyders. The twist goes deeper. _Why couldn’t I be that important to them?_

“Luke? Hello!”

He snaps out of it. “Shit, sorry. So there’s nothing in there about the reasons as to why he ran away?”

“Well, you already knew about his dad being an army colonel, right?”

“Yeah,” Luke responds. “But there wasn’t anything about his mom. Did you find anything about that?”

“Just that her name was Charlene and she filed for divorce when Mayer was around three years old.”

“Huh.”

“Articulate.”

“Bite me.”

“Even better.”

Luke rolls his eyes but answers cordially. “I really appreciate this, Zo. More than you know. I should go though, it’s been a long day.”

“Hold on a minute. How was your first day? Get closer to Mayer?”

Luke hesitates before answering. “A little, he asked me to have dinner with him tonight.”

“And you said no?”

“Well…I was really tired and…”

“Luke!” she barely notices to keep her voice down. “You’re supposed to get closer to him now, get this done before it can blow up anymore in your face. And all you can give me is ‘I was really tired’? What the actual fuck?”

“Jesus, Zoe. Would you keep your voice down? I’m working on it.” Luke rubs at his forehead in frustration. He can hardly tell Zoe that the reason he turned Noah down is because every time he looks at him he has the sudden urge to jump his bones. No, that explanation won’t fly well with Zoe at all.

“You do know that this now has to look like an— ”

“— an accident. I know, Zo. Stop acting like I don’t know how to do my job.”

Zoe barely holds back her snort. “Sometimes I wonder.”

Luke grits his teeth. “Well, as wonderful and stimulating this conversation has been, our time is up. Will call back in four days.”

“Be careful, Luke. I know you hate when I push but—”

“Yeah yeah, I know. You worry.”

“ _Luciano._ ”

“Bye, Zo!” And Luke hangs up before she can protest.

He goes through his nightly routine and as he lies in bed, he wonders what possibly could have happened to Noah that led him to smuggling and involved with prostitution dealings. He had read up on the little information he could find on Colonel Mayer. He was a mean son of a bitch. Luke wonders if that’s the reason Noah ran away, wonders if it was the foster homes that slowly drove Noah mad. But he cleaned up when Lucinda found him. Or did he?

Still. It just all seems _wrong_. Doesn’t seem like Noah at all.

_And how would you know?_

_“Ugh, brain, shut up._. Luke tosses and turns before he settles down in a semi-comfortable position. He decides he _doesn’t_ know Noah. Furthermore, he doesn’t care to know Noah and it shouldn’t matter. With that last thought, he falls into a fitful sleep.

 

  


 

Noah rubs at the back of his head, closing his eyes and breathes slowly through the pain. Headaches have been a part of his life for years – another lovely side effect of the accident – and he's learned to work past them. He wasn't given much of a choice in the matter. But every once in a while they get so bad that he wants to shut himself up in a dark, quiet room for a month until it goes away forever.

“Mr. Mayer? Are you okay?”

He glances up to see one of their newer interns looking very concerned and he waves his hand, tries to smile, knows by the way her eyes narrow that it's not really working. “I'm fine, Sandy. Just a migraine. It'll pass.”

They always do.

Sandy's face softens and she points back toward the bullpen as Casey so fondly calls it. “I have some aspirin in my purse.”

He shakes his head quickly, bites his lip to keep from it groaning out at the pain. “Thank you, Sandy, really. But I'll be fine. I got it taken care of.”

“Why are you being stubborn?”

Noah jumps a little at the sound of Luke's voice and smiles again, thinks this time it's more real from the way Sandy hides a laugh behind her hand as she walks out of his office. He can't help it that Luke makes him feel like he's eighteen again. “I'm not.” At the disbelieving look he gets from Luke, Noah rolls his eyes then cringes. “Luke, I take specific medication every day for this that can’t really be mixed with anything else . That would end badly, so thank you for the concern, but I've got it covered.”

The silence that follows that is thick with questions and Noah doesn't have the nerve to look over at where he can feel Luke standing. It's disconcerting that he can do that to him. All Luke has to do is walk into a room and Noah needs to take a minute to remember how to think properly. The worst part is his body's response to Luke. He can't even describe what happens whenever Luke accidentally touches him. Every cell wakes up and Noah's senses seem to align themselves to every movement Luke has.

He tries to push those thoughts out of his mind, flipping through the file as he says, “I thought you'd gone home for the night.”

He feels Luke come closer, catches sight of him leaning against Noah's desk, arms crossed casually as he stares at him. “I was working on the speech for the Chamber of Commerce lunch. Still think it's a got a few weak parts.”

Noah swallows, turning to face Luke with a grateful smile. “If I haven't said this already, you're doing a great job, Luke. Thank you.”

Like every other time he's been complimented, there's a flash of irritation across Luke's face before he flushes some and nods his acceptance. Noah has no idea why he can't seem to believe it when anyone says something nice about him. He reaches his hand out, wrapping it around Luke's upper arm, ignores the way the heat burns his fingers and shakes gently until Luke looks up from where he's been starting at Noah's hand. “I mean it. I'm glad that you took this job.” He's still touching Luke when he moves closer. They're only a foot apart and Noah's fingers tighten on Luke's arm. He hears the sharp intake of breath and brings his gaze up to lock with Luke's.

“Noah, here are your meds.”

They pull apart, taking several steps away from each other and Noah feels the loss in his chest, an ache he's becoming accustomed to. He flicks his glare at Casey, standing frozen at the door, one hand clenched on the knob. He returns Noah's glare, clears his throat and he can see the effort it takes his friend not to say whatever is on his mind. He steps into the room, drops the prescription bottle on the desk. “Don't forget to take that.” is all he says before walking back out, slamming the door behind him.

Noah sighs, rubs at the back of his neck, trying to ignore the pounding of his veins. He needs to talk to Casey again. Somewhere along the way he's come to the conclusion that Noah needs protection. He understands better than anyone that his accident affected Casey almost as it had Noah, but this is different. He doesn't need to be protected from Luke.

A hand appears in front of his face, holding one of the blue capsules and Noah reaches up for it. Luke drops it in his palm and then his hand re-appears holding a glass of orange juice. He half-smiles because of course Luke would know not to give him water. He waits until Noah takes his medication and drinks his juice before nodding in satisfaction.

“I'm going to get back to that speech.”

“Okay.”

He's almost to the door when he stops and Noah waits, his breath held for whatever is coming.

“If you – ever want to talk about it – about whatever happened, I can listen.” He seems confused as he talks but before Noah can react, Luke is out of his office, leaving that confusion behind in his wake.

 

  


 

“Yes, sir.” Luke tilts his head, trying to balance the phone between his cheek and shoulder while flipping through the papers in his hands. Damian is on the other line and Luke stifles a sigh as he gives him a report. Damian had been on him as soon as he answered the phone and demanded an update, asking if his plan was underway. “I do have a lead,” Luke tries to get in between words of the verbal dressing down he is being given.

_“A lead is not good enough, Luciano. They are not going to want leads, I need a good solid report to give back to them. If you want The Company to even consider your…proposal, I need results.”_

Luke grits his teeth. “Oh, but I thought if I was good at my job, they’re not going to want to let me go?” He can’t help his sarcastic reply. Damian is silent for a few long moments on the other side.

_“You will contact me in a week.”_

He hangs up and Luke really wants to throw himself off the balcony of his hotel but instead settles in to read the new information Zoe got for him. He zeroes in on a few key words:

 _Phenytoin: used to treat head trauma victims and to help prevent hemorrhaging and seizures_.

That was the drug Luke had seen Noah take. He had looked up what he could find before contacting Zoe.

_“But it says that the drug is only administered during the first week or so to victims of head trauma. How is it that Noah is still taking it now? Is that even healthy? Or legal?” Luke asks._

_“Well, from what I’ve got here, seems like your boy is a special case. He still needs it. It doesn’t specify for how long. But his doctor prescribed it for him. How they get around the legal or medical issues of that is more research that I don’t think you really care for now.”_

_“He’s not my boy,” is the only thing Luke can mutter._

_Zoe studiously ignores him. “So, you gonna tell me why you asked about this fancy schmancy drug?”_

_“Noah says it can’t be mixed with anything else. So I’m mixing it with aspirin, an easy and common over-the-counter drug.”_

_“Uh huh, but phenytoin is generally safe if you mix it with aspirin.”_

_“Not if the dosage is more than 2500 mg.”_

_“Well by golly, baby cousin, you got a solid plan. Finally.”_

_“I am six months older than you.”_

_“Whatever.”_

_“I’m hanging up now.”_

_Zoe turns serious. “Be—”_

_“—careful, I know. Damn it, Zo.” He hangs up before she can retaliate._

Luke pulls himself from the memory of their earlier conversation and flips the stack of sheets in front of him.

_\--if more than 2500 mg per day is taken, however, the total level of phenytoin in the blood may be decreased but the free level may increase—_

_\--experience decreased levels of phenytoin and be more susceptible to seizures—_

_\--increased concentrations of free phenytoin in serum, attributable to the displacement of this anticonvulsant by other drugs—_

The words start to blur together, but Luke already knows what he has to do. A seizure. It’ll be so simple, so easy. And if Luke does his job right, undetectable. _An unfortunate accident_ , is what the reports will say.

An image of Noah’s smiling and open face flashes briefly through Luke’s mind and he blatantly ignores it. Digging his fingernails into his palms, he gets up to take a nice and long shower.

 

  


 

“I know, all right? I’ll get it you soon,” a voice hisses but it’s loud and clear to Luke’s ears as he passes the office doors. Before Luke can investigate any further he hears the sound of a phone being slammed down and more bustling around. Luke places himself a little closer to the slightly ajar doors before they swing open and a man stalks out, flustered and frustrated. He doesn’t notice Luke and Luke barely gets a glimpse of him, but he looks a lot like Noah’s accountant. A closer glance at the bronze-plated name on one of the office doors confirms his guess.

 _Reg Addington_.

Huh.

He remembers meeting Reg Addington the day he met Hughes. Reg didn’t seem to like him either. That doesn’t stop Luke for being curious as to what got the other man so agitated. It’s lunch time so the offices are mostly empty for the next hour or so. Luke waits a few more minutes to make sure Reg isn’t coming back and takes a quick and thorough glance around before making his way inside.

The office is flawless and airy, the big desk by the windows meticulously organized. But Luke’s trained eye takes in the tight places and corners where there are locks. Locks for things that are meant to be hidden and never seen. _Too bad_ , Luke thinks. _What are you hiding, Addington?_

Luke approaches the desk first, flipping through the neatly stack of papers idly before returning them to their exact state of order. He opens drawers and cabinets, not finding anything of interest until he comes across a locked one, hidden underneath and along the inside of the right row of drawers.

“Fancy,” Luke mutters and then takes out his favorite pocket knife. The entire desk and its compartments are made of elegant wood and extravagant materials but the lock is standard issue, and Luke has no problem disengaging it. He reaches inside and pulls out a plain unlabeled folder. He stands up, places it on the desk, opens it, and begins reading.

The entire folder is filled with reports and records of Zachary Grayson’s campaign under Noah’s leadership. Most are records of the funding and Luke doesn’t have to wonder why Reg is keeping these locked in a cabinet somewhere, he has a pretty good idea. He cross- references them with the records that are stacked out in the open on Reg’s desk and his suspicions are confirmed.

They don’t match. The discrepancies are there, not enough for anyone to notice at first glance, but Luke notices. Even without his prior knowledge of where the missing funds are going, he would have known.

 _So Addington is helping Noah falsify records, huh?_ Luke wonders if he has the tactical advantage to take them both down.

Sounds of murmured voices are starting to come from down the hallways and Luke puts the folder back in the cabinet and swiftly locks it back up, erasing any evidence that it had been tampered with. He makes sure everything is in its place before making a quick exit and walking back to his office.

 

  


 

“Oh fuck you, Hughes, you wouldn’t know a good classic if it bit you in the ass.”

Casey chucks a balled up napkin in Noah’s direction but Noah easily dodges it.

“Your aim sucks too.”

“Don’t make me use the lo mein. I’ll do it, Mayer, you know I will.”

Casey picks up the remnants of their dinner and makes a show of scooping out some of the noodles.

“No, you won’t. Because we’ve got these lovely stacks of very important paperwork we have get through before the night is over and if you get an ounce of grease on them, Grayson will eat _you_ for dinner.”

“Ugh. Nicely played. That man scares the shit out of me. I don’t know how you work so closely with him.”

“He’s really tough because he has to be. Because people need to listen to what he has to say. He’s a good man, Case. Gonna do some really good if he’s elected.”

“Yeah yeah. How much more is left?”

“A ton.”

Casey sighs dramatically and looks around, seeing Reg in a corner in one of the couches, staring at his own stack of papers, but he doesn’t seem to be really paying attention.

“Yo, Reg. Everything okay over there, man?”

Reg startles a little and turns to him. “Yeah, I’m just tired as hell. How long have we been at this?”

“Too fucking long.” Casey yawns. “Noah, I know you wanted to get this done by tonight but it won’t hurt to put off the rest tomorrow, will it?”

Noah hesitates. “Well…”

Casey snorts. “I knew it! I knew it was just your anal ways wanting to get this done now when it doesn’t really have to be. I’m going home, dude.”

Reg stands up too and puts his pile down by Noah and Casey’s. “Me too, Noah. I’ll come in an hour early tomorrow and help you finish but I’m about to pass out right now and I’d really like to do that on my own bed.”

Noah sighs. “Fine, fine. Some campaign team we are. You guys are weak.”

“I’ll stay and help finish.” Luke’s voice is quiet from where he had been sitting in one of the chairs by the desk, listening silently to the conversation.

Casey stills for a moment and narrows his eyes. “Maybe I will stay, don’t want you two passing out and drooling all over everything.”

But Noah is smiling wide now and shooing Casey and Reg out the door. “No no no, Luke and I can handle it. You two are the ones who look about ready to fall over. Go on! We’ll stay and finish what we can.”

“Are you sure?” Casey’s eyes never leave Luke as Luke gets up and settles himself on the spot on the couch Casey recently vacated, next to Noah.

“Yeah, Casey. Seriously. Go. And maybe help Reg to his car, poor guy looks ready to fall asleep against the wall.”

Casey turns to see Reg with his eyes closed, slumped against the wall by the doors. He looks exhausted and completely worn out. More than Noah and Casey have ever seen him.

“Okay, fine.” Casey reluctantly agrees. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to take your meds.”

Noah rolls his eyes. “Yes, mother. And I will make sure to drink a warm cup of milk if I have trouble sleeping, and I will floss and brush my teeth.”

“Don’t get smart or I will spank you.”

Noah grins. “Promises, promises. Now go, please.”

Casey gives him a warm hug, arms tight around Noah’s back, his eyes still straying to Luke over Noah’s shoulder. When he lets go, he gives Noah a small smile before ushering Reg out with him and then they’re gone.

“I swear, sometimes it’s like begging to be able to stay up for ten more minutes to watch your favorite t.v. show.”

Luke looks up from the file he was perusing. “He cares about you a lot.”

“Yeah, kind of comes with the best friend territory.”

Luke’s eyebrows furrow together. “He doesn’t like me very much.”

Noah lets out a laugh. “Nah. He just doesn’t know you. Casey can be overprotective at times. Actually, all the time. Ever since…the accident I had several years back. And sometimes he forgets that I’m a grown man who can take care of himself. It takes him awhile to trust the new people around me. Give him time, and I promise soon he’ll at least stop glaring at you.” He gives Luke a teasing smile and Luke smiles back.

Noah does a mental victory dance.

“The accident you won’t talk about.”

The smile falls slightly from Noah’s face. “Yeah. It’s just – it’s not something I like to broadcast to the world.”

Luke’s fingers graze Noah’s elbow in a placating gesture. “I’m sorry, Noah. I didn’t mean to pry. It’s none of my business. I’m just insatiably curious. It’s a fault, I know. I’m trying to work on it. But it tends to make me stick my foot in my mouth.” Luke’s fingers squeeze around his elbow and Noah burns hot all over.

“I was a dumb kid who had some dumb luck. By the way, trying to rig fireworks, even standard issue ones they sell at your friendly neighborhood grocery store, not the best idea one can have.”

“Ah,” is all Luke says.

But Noah continues, not quite sure why he feels the need to tell Luke all this. Share with him a part of himself that he barely even shares with any of the guys he’s dated in the past.

“Yeah, went blind for about a year.” He can feel Luke still against him but he doesn’t look up and folds his hands into his lap and stares at them. “It was hell. For awhile there I thought it was maybe some kind of punishment.”

“For what?”

 _For not being you. Feeling like I replaced you._ “For lots of many different things.”

There’s a pause, curiosity in Luke’s eyes. “I can’t imagine. I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Noah.” Luke’s hand isn’t on his elbow anymore but he’s closer now, their thighs pressed together on the couch, so Noah isn’t complaining.

“It wasn’t so bad. You know, once I got passed the wanting to crawl into a hole and die part.” Noah chuckles, a little darkly, a little sadly, and Luke presses closer. “Anyway, that was sort of the beginning of the end of my film career.”

“But you got better. Why didn’t you go back to school and finish your degree?”

Noah looks up then and is surprised to see how close their faces are together. Luke notices and moves away from Noah, leaving enough space in between them on the couch. Noah instantly misses the warmth by his side. He clears his throat. “Well, you know what they say; single traumatic events in your life can change it forever.”

“It was a pretty big change. From the film industry to politics?”

“What? You think only Schwarzenegger can do it?”

“You’re hilarious.”

“I try. But really. I guess long story short, I went to rehab. Met all sorts of people there. Heard all of their stories, their struggles. Helped me put so many things into perspective. Also made me realize how crap the legal system is for certain patients. And health insurance issues, real and gritty and devastating all right in my face. And I guess I decided then and there, to be perfectly corny and cliché, to make a difference.”

Luke is silent for a moment, gazing at Noah with an expression Noah can’t quite read.

“You also decided to focus on LBGT issues,” he said after awhile.

“I did. It’s not my only focus. But it’s a big one. It’s a cause that’s very near and dear to me.”

“I see.” Luke lips quirks into a grin. “You’re just a big _Lifetime_ movie waiting to happen, aren’t you?”

Noah shoves him. “Who’s the comedian now?” Luke shakes his head and stands. “Hey, where you going?”

“To get your meds. So I can tell Casey that I made sure you took them like the good boy that you are. Maybe he’ll start to like me.”

Noah stands up and stops Luke with a hand on his harm. “Don’t be silly, Grimaldi. I can get it myself, you may work for me, but you don’t have to cater to my every need.” He walks over to his desk and opens the drawer where he keeps his pills and swallows one dry.

Luke winces. “Ouch, that’s harsh.”

“That’s manly.”

Luke snorts and sits back down. “Okay manly man, why don’t we actually get some of this stuff done.” He looks around the piles of paper strewn all over the couch and even some on the floor. “If you want to be the next big manly Senator righting wrongs and triumphing over evil, we need to be able to get you though the paperwork.”

“Mayor,” Noah mumbles.

“What was that?”

Noah sighs, looking a little put upon. “I said I want to start as a Mayor.”

Luke stares for about two seconds before, “So you’ll be…Mayor Mayer?”

Noah can see Luke biting at his bottom lip trying to hold in a laugh. He’d be more annoyed if he wasn’t too busy staring at that mouth. Instead he responds with, “What are you now, five?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t think about it. All the time. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been pouty just now.”

“I am _not_ pouting.”

“Whatever,” Luke says good-naturedly. “Let’s get some work done Mr. Mayor Mayer.” Luke grins widely at him. And Noah is too busy grinning back to care.

They work in companionable silence for the next couple of hours, until Noah hears Luke let out a jaw cracking yawn. That’s when he starts to feel the exhaustion of the entire day seep into his bones.

“I think we should call it a night.”

Luke nods absently, rubbing at his face, making him look a little childlike, and Noah finds it so adorable that he has to stop himself from leaning over and tucking a strand of hair behind Luke’s ear. Luke had lost his suit jacket at some point during the night and his sleeves are rolled up. Noah wants to run his fingers against the light hair there, see if it will stand to his touch. Wants to tug at the tie now loose around Luke’s neck. Wants to lick at the spot underneath it, where his shirt is open at the collar.

Noah shakes his head and removes his glasses. Yeah, he’s thinking about molesting his speech writer in the middle of his office late into the night, it is _definitely_ time for bed time.

But not with Luke. Nope. Bed time, in his own bed, by _himself_.

 _Not with Luke_.

God. He’s screwed.

“I really appreciate your help, Luke. You didn’t have to stay.”

“Wasn’t a problem. I wanted to.” He gives Noah a warm and sleepy smile and this time Noah can’t help but lean in and brush back the strand of hair that falls in front of those brown _brown_ eyes.

Luke stills but doesn’t pull away. Those eyes get a shade darker and when Luke licks at his bottom lip, Noah’s tiny shred of self-control snaps and he’s leaning in, swallowing that tongue into his mouth. He kisses Luke firmly but slowly, giving Luke time to back out if he wanted to. A little moan escapes the back of Luke’s throat and Noah feels it vibrate against his mouth. And then Luke is kissing him back, just as strongly, long swipes of his tongue against Noah’s.

Noah feels a hand grip at his tie, pulling him in, while another shoves at the jacket of his suit, pushing it off his shoulders until it’s completely off him and on the ground. Luke is climbing onto his lap and Noah barely gets a grip on him before he’s on his back, papers crinkling underneath their combined weight.

Luke is hot and strong on top of him and Noah’s hands squeeze at his sides and when Luke moans again, Noah greedily swallows it. Luke pulls back to breathe and Noah takes the opportunity to lick at the exposed neck above him like he’d fantasized minutes earlier, nipping lightly, teeth grazing at a strong tendon before Luke’s mouth is on his again, sucking on his upper lip, fingers grazing his collarbone. He feels those fingers lower and the buttons on his shirt start to become undone.

Noah’s cock is heavy and hard between them and he thrusts his hips up, feels Luke’s answering hardness against his. “Noah,” he groans. And Noah thinks he can live off the sound of his name coming from those lips like that forever. Luke’s hipbones dig into his as they bear down against him. It’s sharp and hard and he’ll probably have slight bruises there tomorrow but Noah doesn’t care. He wants them there. Wants the reminder of Luke’s weight on top of him, Luke’s tongue in his mouth, Luke’s hands in his hair.

Those hands are now burning a hot trail down his chest, fluttering against his stomach. They graze the waistband of his pants and Noah’s legs fall open further, an invitation for Luke to take anything he wants, do whatever he wants. Noah kisses him until they’re both dizzy from it and moves both hands down Luke’s back, pausing at the swell of his ass before moving down and squeezing. Luke tears his mouth away to breathe, forehead resting against Noah’s. Noah squeezes again and Luke grinds down, their cocks rubbing together, their hips picking up speed and Noah moans. Their faces are so close together Luke can feel every breath Noah takes.

“Luke…,” Noah’s voice is wrecked, want and lust and longing all wrapped up in one syllable. Noah watches Luke’s eyes turn almost completely black, flecks of brown tinting the edges. He takes the hand that didn’t make its way inside one of Luke’s back pockets, and reaches around the front. Noah tentatively grazes the hard length of Luke’s cock and when Luke only stares intently and doesn’t stop him, he palms Luke through the cloth. He feels the shudder that goes through Luke’s entire body. He goes for the zipper but as soon as his fingers touch the cool metal, Luke completely stills on top of him and his eyes go wide.

Before Noah can do anything else Luke is scrambling off him, eyes still wide and breathing coming out in harsh pants. They stare at each other for long minutes, both trying to get air into their lungs. Noah slowly sits ups, feeling a little ridiculous with his shirt hanging completely open, tie loose around his neck, and his cock still hard and leaking inside his pants. Luke doesn’t look any better and Noah can’t help but think he looks gorgeous, his face still flushed and his lips still bruised and swollen from their kisses. But Luke’s not looking at him anymore and Noah desperately wants those eyes back on him.

“Luke...did I do something wrong?” Luke doesn’t answer him and trepidation sinks into Noah’s stomach. “Hey, I’m sorry if I went too far. We don’t have to— ”

“I have to go,” Luke interrupts and looks around for his jacket, finding it thrown on the other side of the couch. He puts it on and starts shoving papers into his suitcase. He’s out the door before Noah can even formulate a response.

 

  


 

Later, Luke lies in his bed and jerks off twice before his body lets him contemplate sleep. He dreams in vibrant colors: blue blue eyes, brown brown horses, and green green grass. He dreams of voices, achingly familiar but far away and out of reach, so that he can’t distinguish them. He wakes up several times, thoughts racing a hundred miles per minute.

 

  
  


 

He doesn't know why Luke ran away from him. It hurts more than he should let it because he barely knows this man. Yet, it's like he's known him his entire life. It has nothing to do with the family. He feels some connection to Luke, something that he can't explain that binds them together. As if Noah could understand Luke better than anyone else if he just opened up and let him.

These thoughts run through his head every time they're in a room together. Luke tenses whenever Noah gets within a few feet of him, like he's afraid Noah will touch him and they'll end up back on the couch, tangled and breathless and –

He shakes off the mental image, reminds himself that it was Luke who left him sitting like some idiot in his office. Noah doesn't normally miscalculate things but this he completely did.

And now everything is awkward between them and he hates it so much.

Luke is a professional. Noah can't complain there. He doesn't bring it up and the only time Noah tries to broach the subject, when everyone else is at lunch, he diverts it smoothly enough that Noah can't even feel embarrassed. He turns the conversation to the newest speech he's writing.

Noah can take a hint.

Luke blatantly avoids him all day, spending his time with Casey instead, which really says a lot. Noah fights the urge to make him talk because he may end up looking a lovesick fool or something but damn if he'll add sexual harassment to his ever growing list of stupid decisions.

During the day, he catches his gaze falling to Luke's mouth, remembers the heat on his skin, across his own mouth, the way Luke tastes, the humming in the back of his throat when Noah threading his fingers in his hair—and then it comes back in a rush, the humiliation, makes him pull his gaze away from Luke.

The day's been too long for him so when the clock on his desk hits the six o'clock mark Noah breaths deep, lets the tension that accumulated at the center of his chest out slowly. He closes his eyes and repeats the action. He can do this.

“You doing your breathing exercises is _never_ a good sign.”

His eyes fly open, landing on Reid lounging without a care in the world against his door frame. It's surprising to say the least to find his ex anywhere near his job. One of their relationship’s biggest hurdles had been Noah's political aspirations. Reid thinks all politicians are essentially crooks and doesn't trust them. (Well, in all honestly, Reid doesn't trust _anyone._ Ever. Hurdle number two.)

For Reid to come to his office is on par of some huge tragedy descending on them.

He says as much and watches Reid's mouth twitch at the corners. “You definitely missed your calling in the film business, Mayer. You've got a knack for the dramatic.”

Noah gives him a 'you've got to be kidding?' glare. “Pot. Kettle.”

“I am _never_ dramatic.”

Noah snorts loudly, shaking his head in disbelief. “You just cover your tracks better is all.”

Reid inclines his head and Noah knows it's only partial agreement he's getting. “I do that very well.” His smile is quick, lightens up his face and it still affects Noah a little to see that look aimed his way. He forgets how disarming Reid tends to be when he wants.

“You gonna tell me why you're here?”

Reid raises one eyebrow. Noah's always wondered how he manages to make that gesture mean a different thing every time.

“It's Wednesday.”

They have a standing dinner date on Wednesdays. Noah buries his face in his hands, groans into them before he attempts to regain composure. His mind has been occupied with all things Luke.

“I am so screwed.” He blurts out and Reid blinks, studies his face. He seems to come to a decision, stepping into the office as he closes the door behind him. Noah watches as he takes a seat, crosses his legs casually and then stares at him, waiting.

“I think I did something stupid.” When he opens his mouth to explain, everything just spills out. His feelings for Luke, what happened the night before and how he doesn't know how to handle it. Something flickers across Reid's face, makes Noah pause, but Reid shakes his head, waves him on.

“I just – I have no plan for this, Reid.”

Reid nods. “Good.”

Noah gapes at him for a second. “No. Not good.” He flails slightly, shaking his head. “I don't even know if he feels – I thought – he seemed to – but no, I know he doesn't.”

Reid snorts. “I'm pretty sure he does.”

“You weren't there, okay? His face was – he looked ashamed. Guilty.” His voice is small when he admits the last part. “Disgusted.”

“Okay, listen, because I'm saying this once and then denying it completely if you ever bring it up again.” Reid stands, makes his way around the desk to stand in front of Noah. “You. You're amazing. You have this thing about you, Noah, that draws people in. Makes them want to stay. Trust me. And from what you tell me this guy isn't stupid, so he sees that, Noah.” He feels Reid's hands grip his arms. “Whatever this might be with this guy, it's different for you, Noah. I can see that already and I haven't even met him.” He scowls down at Noah. “Not that I'm looking forward to it.”

Noah's eyebrow rises up in surprise. “Are you—”

Reid rolls his eyes. “Give me some credit, please. You're the closest to family I have so yeah. And we were – we were. For a long time. Despite evidence to the contrary, I am human. Feelings and crap happen when I'm not looking.”

Noah starts to laugh, grabbing on to Reid's shoulder.

“You should see your face when you talk about him. It's – not something that was there with me,” he makes a derisive sound, “and definitely not with Reg.”

Noah looks away for a moment, flexing his fingers on Reid's arm. “That's the problem. I don't know how to handle it.”

Reid nods. “To which I respond again with good. Your biggest problem, Mayer, and we've had this conversation many times before, is you want everything to fit into your plan. That blueprint you have in your head. That's not how it works. You should know that by now.” Reid's brushes Noah's hair away from his face. “Also you need a haircut.”

Noah is laughing when the door opens. He glances over, stops breathing when he sees Luke, frozen in place, glare boring right at Reid. He stamps down on the urge to step away, get some distance between him and Reid.

“Luke.”

His gaze is shuttered when he walks in and waves a pad at Noah. “I thought you'd want to give this a look.”

Noah nods and walks around Reid to stand next to Luke. His hand brushes Luke's, skin prickling up his arm and Noah swallows hard. He meets Reid's gaze, sees the smirk touching the sides of his mouth and narrows his eyes. He gestures toward Reid. “Luke, this is Dr. Reid Oliver. Reid, Luke Grimaldi.”

Reid nods. “Mr. Grimaldi.” He doesn't offer a hand but that might be because Luke is glaring at him hard. He barely responds with a slight nod of his own.

“Dr. Oliver.”

Noah swears the temperature in the room just dropped twenty degrees. He recognizes the look on Reid's face, silently begs him not to –

“So, what do you do, Luke?”

Noah gives Reid a warning look and steps in. “Luke is our speech writer. He's great.” There's a slight flush on Luke's face and his gaze locks on Noah's.

“Hmm. Sounds – interesting.”

Luke's eyes are back on Reid, narrowed to almost slits at the tone. “We can't all be brain surgeons, can we?”

Reid's smirk gets larger, turns his gaze to Noah, moving it slowly up and down. “You talking about me, Mayer?” His voice has a teasing tilt he rarely uses and Noah notes how Luke tenses, hands curling into fists at his side.

“About what a pain in the ass you are, absolutely,” he snaps, ignoring how Reid's eyes light up at the prospect of needling him into an argument. He does not need him to make things worse. Luke is watching them, his face unreadable, and Noah doesn't know what to do. He steps closer, touches his arm, pulling back when Luke flinches. “Did you need me to look at this tonight?”

Luke starts to say something when Casey sticks his head into the office. “Luke, I need – oh. Reid.”

“Casey.”

Casey's eyes flick from Noah to Luke to Reid and then back. “Huh.”

Reid sighs. “Are either of you going to need Noah right now or can I take him with me?” He's looking right at Luke when he asks.

Noah watches Luke's face do this complicated dance before he shakes his head. Casey's voice is laced with amusement when he says, “He's all yours.”

“As it should be.”

And Noah is seriously going to kill him.

Luke nods at Noah then heads out of the room, moving fast, and Casey watches him go. He glances back at Noah before he rolls his eyes and closes the door.

Noah turns on Reid. “What the hell was that?”

Reid shrugs. “Just testing a theory.”

“And what theory is that? The one about you being an asshole? Cause that's actually been proven already.”

“I was doing you a favor.”

“You were what?” Noah asks incredulously. Reid shrugs again and Noah really hates when he does that. He really does.

“He's interested, Noah.” Reid says, folds his arms across his chest. “Way more than interested. He was pissed to see me here. Probably saw red when he caught me touching you. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't find myself in any dark alleys with him.”

Noah starts to shake his head but Reid cuts him off with a hand.

“Noah. I know jealousy when I see it. You need to talk to him. Really talk to him.” He looks down at his watch. “After we have dinner because I'm starving, and since I've solved your romantic issues I think I deserve to be fed. Let's go.”

He doesn't bother to argue because getting between Reid and food is never a good idea. He grabs his coat, tries not to think about the hope that lightens his heart, and follows Reid out.

 

  


 

Luke is avoiding Noah and Noah knows it. The cell he uses for work continues to ring in the three days he’s last seen Noah and there are about four voicemails from him. Luke knows he’s being a coward. But he needs time. Just a little more time.

And then there’s Reid Oliver. Luke scowls. Yeah, he is _not_ going there. He doesn’t do jealousy. And he is definitely not jealous of Oliver. Luke had read up more on him when he found out that he was the doctor who had done Noah’s surgery. Noah talked about him briefly in some of the casual conversations they’ve had but had never said anything more about him other than he was a doctor and that they were good friends.

The scene that Luke had walked in on the other day was definitely verging on more than just “good friends” territory. But Luke definitely doesn’t think about that either.

He busies himself alternating between writing speeches and finalizing his plans. He gets a text from Jim on the third day and smiles. He wonders how much easier it’d be if Noah was like Jim. A pretty, friendly face and a tight body he can lose himself in and not have to worry about messy and complicated feelings after. He stares at the _miss you, baby_ on the glowing screen of his phone. And wishes. He’s not exactly sure what for anymore.

He’s not surprised when a knock comes on his door on the fourth day because he’d been expecting it. He opens it and Noah’s face looks back at him, a little tight around the eyes but mostly open and nervous. Luke steps back and quietly lets him in.

Noah takes in his surroundings and stops short by the bed before turning around. He’d come prepared, carefully crafting what he’d say to Luke in the days he hadn’t seen him. But he takes a look at Luke’s face now, completely unreadable, and Noah finds the words stuck in his throat. Luke is still not saying anything so Noah throws caution to the wind and speaks first.

“Look. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It won’t happen again if you don’t want it to. But unless I read the signals wrong, which were frankly quite blatant, you _did_ want this too. Well, at least you did at the moment.”

Luke’s mouth thins and for a few minutes Noah thinks he’s going to get the brush off but Luke lets out a sigh before gesturing to the couch by the window. Noah walks over and takes a seat.

“Drink?”

“Just water would be fine, thanks.”

Luke goes over to the mini-fridge taking out two bottles before joining him. “I didn’t mean to avoid you - _yes I did_ \- but I just needed some time to figure some things out. I don’t usually do this, hook up randomly with people that I haven’t known for a long time - _lies lies lies_ \- and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I’ve had bad luck with…guys in the past and it’s not an experience I care to repeat.” Luke lets his eyes get big and round and he sees the moment Noah softens, moving closer to Luke on the couch.

“Luke. That’s all you needed to say, you didn’t have to avoid me. Avoid the office.”

“Well, it’s not like I need to be there to do my job.”

“That’s not the point.”

“No, I guess not.” Luke’s lips quirk up a little and Noah, unable to resist, reaches out, thumb grazing the side of Luke’s mouth. Luke’s lashes lower and he looks up at Noah through hooded eyes. “Noah,” he starts and Noah’s gaze is drawn to his mouth shaped around the two syllables of his name. “We can’t do this. We work together, it wouldn’t be right.” He gets up and puts some distance between them.

“Says who?”

“Says, I don’t know, the rules.”

Noah laughs. “There aren’t any rules about this, Luke.”

“You’re my boss, there has to be.”

“I _am_ your boss. And I say, no, there isn’t it.” Luke hesitates but doesn’t stop Noah from getting closer. “I’ve told you before. I like you, Luke. A lot.”

“Noah…”

“Give me one really good reason why I can’t kiss you right now.”

Luke opens his mouth.

“I said a _good_ reason, Grimaldi.”

Luke shuts his mouth and glares at him, even though they both know there’s no heat behind it. Noah doesn’t let him say anymore and kisses him then, an arm going around Luke’s waist while the other travels up his back, fingers threading through his hair. Luke’s mouth is pliant underneath his and their tongues tangle as they kiss deeper. Luke rises to his tip toes and Noah has half the mind to lift him up and push him down the nice, very comfortable looking king-sized bed, but Luke is already pulling back and Noah can’t help but chase those lips. Luke chuckles and gives him one last peck before taking a step back. He doesn’t leave Noah’s embrace though, and Noah is happy to hold him there.

“Okay, I don’t have a _really_ good reason but I still don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“How about we do this slowly? Dinner with me tomorrow night, at my place.”

“In what world does that define slowly?”

“Please, Grimaldi. I’m a gentleman. And I cook.”

“Do you?”

“I make a mean shrimp carbonara.”

“Fancy.”

“It is. So say yes.”

Noah’s eyes are the bluest he’s seen them and Luke takes a moment (or two) to admire how the last rays of the evening sun bounce off his irises, making them dance.

“Yes.”

Noah’s slow burner smile is followed by a kiss that has Luke on his toes again, fingers digging into Noah’s broad shoulders. “Don’t get any ideas though, Mayer,” he murmurs after a few minutes.

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Tomorrow at 7. And I expect you to be at the office tomorrow as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yeah, don’t call me that.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“We’ll see.”

Noah gives him one more kiss before he leaves, a smile over his shoulder, and Luke smiles back. Only when the door clicks shut that Luke lets the smile drop from his face. He takes out his phone and places a call to headquarters, not thinking about how easily Noah had fallen for his plan.

 

  


 

Noah’s two-bedroom apartment is pretty modest though really spacious, but Luke doesn’t expect anything less. Everything about it is so _Noah_ , minus a few things that Luke can’t help but be curious about after the brief tour Noah had given him.

“So. Do you not like furniture?”

Noah lets out a surprised laugh as he hands Luke a drink from the kitchen. “So you’ve noticed, huh?”

“More like I see a couch, a coffee table, a TV, and the biggest DVD collection I’ve seen _ever_ but that’s it. And you’ve got a lot of space.”

“Well, after the accident, I sort of got used to it. Having a lot of space without unnecessary clutter. Less chances of tripping over things, less chances of broken bones. And I like it a lot. Basically grew up on a farm and spent my summers running around acres of land until my legs tired out. Drove everyone crazy because none of my cousins could catch me if they ever needed me for anything.” Noah grins. “But I loved it. Mostly because I could finally do it.”

Noah doesn’t miss Luke tensing briefly at the mention of the farm. They both know what farm Noah is talking about. But Luke doesn’t say anything about it and part of Noah is disappointed. He really wants to know more about Luke’s reasons for staying away from the Snyders. Instead Luke smirks at him, teasing.

“You _are_ a _Lifetime_ movie. Too bad you gave all the film stuff up, I’d totally see that movie.”

Noah can’t decide if he should be insulted or if he should kiss that smirk right off Luke’s face. Before he can do anything though, Luke continues.

“But there’s no actor out there freakishly tall enough to play you.”

Noah almost spits out his drink, mouth open on a laugh. “So not only am I a cliché but I am also a freak?”

“Freakishly _tall_.”

“And that’s better?”

“I like tall.”

The temperature in the room heats up about ten degrees and Noah can read the plain want in Luke’s eyes, his face open in an almost invitation. Almost. Because he remembers that they are suppose to be taking it slow. And pushing Luke down on his floor until they both get rug burn from it before they can even get to dinner isn’t the best idea. No matter how much his body aches with it.

The timer that Noah set for the bread in the oven goes off as he’s about to say something else (he’s really not sure what), and he heads back to the kitchen. He turns off the stove and wonders if Luke will notice if he takes a few minutes to stick his head in the freezer to cool off.

“Do you need any help in there?” Luke’s voice drifts over and Noah shakes his head and begins to pull out the homemade Italian bread (Emma’s recipe) out of the oven.

“No, I got it. Sit down, make yourself comfortable. I’ll bring everything out of in a few minutes.”

Luke walks over to the dining room and passes a row of pictures on the wall by the hallway. Against his better judgment, he takes a look at them. There’s one of Noah, he looks about fifteen, a white slip of paper clenched in one of his fists. He’s grinning big, teeth a little crooked at the bottom. Lucinda is beside him, an arm around his shoulders, looking happy and proud. Luke tears himself away from her smiling face and focuses on the paper in Noah’s hand. It’s a driver’s permit. The picture was taken when Noah was taking driving lessons. His gaze travels over the rest of the pictures hanging on the wall. There are ones with several kids in them. All dark and dirty blonde hair, bright brown eyes that stare back at him in the mirror every morning.

 _The Snyders_.

There’s one of Noah on a tractor and he smiles to himself a little over how _small_ Noah looked there. Probably around sixteen or seventeen, but on a tractor he looked like a little boy. But a happy one. The man next to him has dark and messy hair, blown in different directions by the wind. His face is kind and soft as both he and Noah smile at the camera.

Luke really needs to leave. Like right now. But he’s rooted to the spot, his eyes taking in the rest. There are ones of Noah and his friends, a very pretty girl with long wavy hair and big brown eyes. She and Noah are bent over what looks like a digital camera, watching whatever is playing on the small screen. There are pictures of Casey, Reg, and Reid, scowling at the camera. But in the next one, he’s smiling. Well, not exactly _smiling_ but scowling less at least, and he’s looking at Noah with the same fondness Luke had at seen at the office. Luke doesn’t notice he’s glaring until his eyes start to water.

The last two pictures are ones of Noah with a young girl and a guy in his teens. The one next to it is with same people but they’re older. The girl in a cap and gown, and a proud-looking Noah with an arm around her waist. A Noah that looks about the same as he does now.

“Faith’s graduation.”

Luke’s stomach flips at the voice behind him, right next to his ear, but he doesn’t show it.

“I see,” is all he says.

“Graduated with top honors at Oakdale University. Going to be lawyer. Casey’s so proud.” Noah tries to keep his voice light and neutral but the tension in Luke’s shoulders don’t ease.

“Dinner smells great. Everything ready?”

Noah wants to say more but Luke is already turned around, his face carefully blank as he looks at Noah with a quiet but fierce determination in his eyes that clearly says: _I’m not going to talk about this at all so don’t even try._

So Noah relents. For now.

He lets Luke lead them to the dining room and they sit down to their meal. It’s awkward at first, filled with thick and uncomfortable silences that weren’t there in the beginning of the evening. Noah hates it and tries to find a way to break it.

“So. The shipping business. Is that as glamorous as it sounds?” Luke stares at him for a moment. And Noah cringes at how utterly lame that is. But Luke’s lips quirk up a bit and Noah relaxes.

“You’re really bad at this, aren’t you?”

“Whatever. At least I was trying. You were just going to sit there the rest of the night stoically brooding.”

“But with good food in my stomach.”

Noah smiles at that. “So you approve?”

“This is amazing, Noah. Thank you.” This time Luke’s sincere and Noah’s smile gets a bit bigger. “And to answer your question, yes and no. Yes, as in, I got to travel a lot, go to a lot of interesting places. No, as in, I didn’t really get to see much outside office buildings and business rooms. I was around a lot of stuffy old business men. And everything is mergers and ledgers and a lot of times, it’s all really very boring.”

“Then why did you do it?”

Luke shrugs. “You know, the family business.” He doesn’t say more than that.

“It kind of sounds like stuff we deal with in the political field.”

“Maybe. But you’re actually out there making a difference, making your own choices, following your own plan on things.”

“Is that why you decided to quit?”

“More or less.”

“Lucky for me then.” Luke raises an eyebrow at him and Noah clarifies, “I mean, if you hadn’t decided to leave, I wouldn’t have gotten one of the best speech writers working on this campaign.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Mayor Mayer.”

Noah makes a face at that. “Don’t call me that until you absolutely have to. Please. And on the contrary, flattery gets you everywhere. In this field at least. It’s all about how you sell things, how you play the game.” Noah shifts in his chair.

“Does that bother you?”

“Yes,” Noah answers honestly. “But we do good work. I believe in what Grayson is trying to do. Which is why I wanted to be involved in his campaign and convinced Lucinda to back him. We don’t lie. Just sometimes – one needs to know where to bend truths.”

Luke averts his eyes and takes and takes a sip of water. Things are hitting a little too close to home so he changes the subject.

“Sounds like what you would have had to deal with it if you decided to pursue film.”

“Ah, I guess both are not as different as you thought they were.”

“I guess not. What kind of movies do you like?”

“The classics mostly. Film noirs, et cetera. A lot of stuff people our age find boring.”

“I don’t find those boring.”

Noah grins at him. “Yes, you do.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Noah laughs, twirls some pasta through his fork. “What do _you_ watch then?”

“Anything that I don’t fall asleep through.”

“Not a movie fan?”

“No, just the opposite. I just never have time and when I do, I’m usually so tired that I never make it through the end of a movie.”

“You are fifty-year-old man trapped in a twenty-six-year-old body, Grimaldi.”

“Hey! I had a very demanding job.”

“We’ll just have to fix this. Tonight, you and I are going to watch a movie. And you’ll stay awake.”

“Are you sure you’re up for the challenge?”

“Oh I find that I usually accomplish everything I set to do when I put my mind to it.”

There are several layers of hidden meaning in Noah’s statement and with the way Luke’s eyes darken, Noah thinks he gets them too. They eat the rest of their dinner in companionable silence interspersed with lazy conversation.

Luke plops himself down Noah’s couch some time later with a groan. “I think I’m never going to eat again.”

“You’re welcome.” Noah’s face is bemused as he hovers over Luke.

Luke smiles lazily up at him. “Seriously though. Thanks. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in forever.”

“You can repay me by not falling asleep while we watch a movie.” Noah smirks before turning back to continue clearing the table, refusing to let Luke help. “Why don’t you pick one out while I put the rest of these away?”

“What are you in the mood for?”

Noah shrugs. “Doesn’t matter, I love every movie I own and can watch every single one more than twice.”

Luke climbs back to his feet and walks over to the massive collection that almost takes up an entire wall of Noah’s living room. As he tries to make a decision something starts beeping – loudly – and vibrating from the coffee table and Luke sees its Noah’s phone.

“Shit,” Noah swears from the kitchen and comes back out, looking a little sheepish. “Sorry, that’s so loud. I forgot to turn it off before you came over.”

“What is it?”

“It’s my alarm so I remember to take my meds. I usually set it up really loud because I never hear it. That, and I’m never by my phone. Drives Casey crazy because I always forget to take them on time.”

“Is it bad for your health if you forget? How many times a day do you to take them?”

“Just once. I usually take them during the evening. And not really. Sometimes I’ll get really bad migraines but that’s it. And that’s only sometimes. Again, Case worries too much.”

“Well you should start taking care of yourself better, Mayer.”

Noah groans. “Don’t you start too.”

“How many years have you been taking these? You don’t have an excuse.”

Noah fights the childish urge to stick his tongue out. He gives an exaggerated eye roll instead and walks to the bathroom. “Taking them right now. Quit your yapping and pick out a movie already.”

“Yes, boss.” Luke ignores the half-hearted glare that Noah sends him and turns back to the DVD shelves. Through the partially open door he sees Noah go through the medicine cabinet, taking out the small bottle of pills before swallowing one.

“Decide on something yet?” Noah asks after a few minutes.

“You’ve got like thirty billion movies here so, no, not yet.”

“Suck a rookie.”

“Such a _freak_.”

Noah leans in and kisses him, catching Luke a bit off guard. But Luke kisses him back, licks at Noah’s bottom lip and swallows the sigh from his mouth. “This is my new favorite way to shut you up from insulting me,” Noah murmurs against his lips.

“I do not—”

Noah interrupts him with his tongue this time and Luke forgets what he’s supposed to be saying.

“I thought you were suppose to be a gentleman,” Luke breathes out, delighting in the dazed expression on Noah’s face.

“I am. So as the gentleman, I’ll pick a movie that I know you will love and _not_ fall asleep through. And we can snuggle on the couch. I promise not to grope you.”

“Snuggle?”

“So I can keep you awake.”

Luke narrows his eyes. “I thought the movie was supposed to do that.”

Noah pushes him towards the couch. “Sit, Grimaldi. And stop asking questions.”

“Yes, s—”

“Finish that sentence, I dare you.”

Luke shuts his mouth but throws an evil smirk Noah’s way. They settle in to watch _Mr. Smith Goes to Washington_ and Luke thinks he should maybe talk to Noah about bringing the office home with him. But Noah’s arm is around him and he feels like a sixteen-year-old on his first date and Luke doesn’t find himself caring. Noah is warm and solid by his side and when he laughs or makes a comment or two during certain scenes, Luke feels the vibration in his bones.

Once the movie is over, he tries not laugh at Noah’s over-exaggerated speech at how proud he is of Luke for staying awake. He rolls his eyes in jest and listens to Noah’s fake speech, tries not to get lost in his enthusiasm, the way one side of his mouth quirks up to reveal hints of sharp canines that Luke has felt on his neck, on his lips, on his tongue.

He clears his throat and cuts off Noah mid-praise. “As much as this has been super ego boosting for me, Mayer, I really need to go to the bathroom.”

Noah gives him a swift kiss on the temple, a simple gesture probably born out of habit and instinct before lifting his arm from around him and letting him up. He smiles goofily at Luke and Luke’s stomach does a flip that he covers up with a cough, feeling the burn of Noah’s lips on his temple all the way to the bathroom.

He locks the door once he’s inside and leans his forehead against it, takes a deep breath. He walks over to the sink and turns on the faucet, lets the water run and reaches into the pockets of his jeans. He pulls out a small ziplock bag. Luke doesn’t realize his hands are shaking until he tries to open it and fails at the first attempt, nearly dropping the bag into the sink.

He takes a minute to compose himself and avoids looking in the mirror. He knows what he’ll see there and he knows he’ll hate it. He opens the medicine cabinet and takes out Noah’s meds. He pops the lid open and stares down at the pills, a dull throbbing in his ears as he carefully empties them into a different bag. He replaces the capsules with identical blue ones and closes the lid tight before putting it back in the same spot on the shelf.

Closing the cabinet door, he catches his reflection in the mirror. He nearly flinches at the look in his eyes, the white of his face, and the tight lines around his lips. He turns off the water and stuffs the bag deep into the pockets of his jeans. The bag crinkles, the texture of the pills burning through his thigh -- a reminder. He takes a moment to hate himself before smoothing his expression back to neutral and going back to Noah.

Luke finds him by the DVD shelves, putting the movie away. “Hey, so I think I’m going to take off. Early day tomorrow. And my boss gets cranky if I show up late.”

“I hear he’s extremely good-looking though. It must be hard for you to concentrate at work.”

“Oh, it is. I fight every fiber of my existence not to throw myself at him against the office desks every day.” Luke had meant for it to come out as a joke, for his tone to be light. But it catches in his throat a little and comes out a bit strangled.

Noah notices and lifts a hand to his face, a thumb grazing his cheek softly. “Hey, are you okay?”

Luke forces a smile that he hopes looks genuine. “I’m fine. I’m just tired, still trying to settle into a whole new city. I’m just not completely used to it yet.”

“Aw, come on. It’s Chicago. Compared to New York, it’s like a baby elephant.”

“Have you actually _seen_ a baby elephant?”

“Does _Dumbo_ count?”

That startles a genuine laugh out of Luke and he leans in to kiss Noah goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow, you freak.” Noah wraps his arms around him, and Luke welcomes the tingles that shoot down his spine, but shuts his heart out to the thought that tomorrow will be the last time he’ll see Noah.

He doesn’t sleep at all that night.

 

  


 

That fourth cup of coffee was definitely not a good idea. He jumps every time a door slams or a drawer opens, sounds drifting in and out from the other offices around him. He flinches whenever he hears Noah’s laughter from the lounge, having lunch with Casey. Luke had made himself scarce since this morning and is dreading Noah’s invitation to join them for lunch. But he goes because he knows Noah will wonder and ask questions. He enters to see Casey stealing a fry from Noah’s plate and Noah batting his fingers away. He catches the sight of Luke and Luke’s entire gut clenches at the look on Noah’s face, bright and happy to see him.

“Hey! Just in time. Please stop this hooligan from stealing my food.”

“Who’re you calling hooligan?”

“Your face.”

Luke watches the banter between them, wishes more than anything things were that easy for him. Noah approaches him, smile still on his face. He reaches for Luke but pauses, unsure how Luke would react to such an open gesture at work in front of other employees. But Luke smiles at him and then he’s in Noah’s arms, face buried in Noah’s neck. He breathes.

“I missed you this morning.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I had a lot of stuff to catch up on since I decided to work from the hotel those few days.”

He feels Noah smile into his hair. “And whose fault was that?”

“Oh, I’m sure it was yours.”

Noah laughs and pulls back, his forehead against Luke’s. A throat clears behind them and Luke looks over at Noah’s shoulder at Casey.

“You guys do know that you’re like in public and stuff, right?”

“Why are you always so jealous, Casey? I told you, you have no reason to worry. You’ll always be number one in my heart, baby.”

“That is definitely my cue to leave.” Casey grabs a napkin, stuffs a bunch of Noah’s fries into it and salutes Noah on his way out, clapping Luke briefly on the shoulder.

Noah is grinning by the time Luke is looking back at him. “See. I told you, you guys will start to get along.”

“Yeah, he’s not so bad.”

The lounge is just the two of them now and Noah leans in to brush a kiss on his lips and Luke surges up, already opening his mouth, his fingers in Noah’s hair. He licks his way into Noah’s mouth, his other hand clenching around Noah’s tie. When they pull apart, they’re both breathless.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

Luke closes his eyes for a minute, fingers still playing with Noah’s tie.

“I think you’ve got a kink for ties.”

Despite the turmoil in his head, Luke feels the heat from Noah’s words in his skin. “Is that an invitation?”

“I don’t know, what are you doing tonight?”

Noah has no idea how layered his question is and Luke twists the fabric in his hand, feeling sick all over. He’s given up trying to fight it, trying to justify why he shouldn’t be feeling this way. The feeling in his gut that something is completely off, completely wrong. That he doesn’t have all the facts and Noah can’t be what they say he is.

He looks into blue eyes, twinkling with mischief and warmth, and the instinct grows stronger. He’d been up all last night, rolling the bag of pills in his hand, trying to force himself to flush it down the toilet like he was suppose d to. He was also supposed to call headquarters and update them that it had been done. But he hadn’t done any of it. Staring at the blue in his hands, the blue of Noah’s eyes in his mind until everything blurred together. One big ball of confusion and clusterfuck.

“Hey, where did you go? Lost you for a moment there.”

Luke shakes his head, tries to smile but fails. “Didn’t sleep well last night.”

“New city woes again?” It’s a joke but there’s some real concern behind the words. “You should eat something.”

Luke hasn’t eaten more than a few bites since dinner with Noah last night but the thought of food makes his stomach revolt. “Honestly, food is the last thing on my mind right now. Maybe I’m getting sick.”

Noah’s frowns. “Do you need to go home?”

“No, I’ll be fine. I think I’ll just sit in my office for a little bit. Do some mindless paperwork.”

“Okay.”

Noah’s frown doesn’t go away so Luke kisses it off him.

“I’ll be fine.” _Such a liar_. “But you’re welcome to check up on me in a little bit to make sure I haven’t drooled all over anything important.”

Noah’s laugh crinkles at his eyes and Luke has to kiss him again, and when he pulls back Noah is still smiling. “Don’t think I won’t actually do that because I will.”

“I’m counting on it.” He turns to leave but Noah takes his hand, fingers threading through his.

“Hey, if you need to talk about anything, you know I’m here right? I mean, you’ve had to listen to my crap these past several weeks, I want to return the favor. Not that, uh, your stuff is crap. But you know, I’m here to listen, if you ever need anyone to talk to.” Noah’s face flushes and Luke feels like he’s falling off a cliff, heart in his throat.

The sincerity and concern in Noah’s face slice like a hot knife through Luke’s skin because he doesn’t deserve any of it. He tilts his head up and kisses Noah’s cheek, soft and lingering. “I know.”

He gives Noah one last smile, squeezing the hand in his before heading back to his office, a million contradictions in his head, but one thought is loud and clear. Luke just wonders if he has it in him to go through with it.

 

  


 

He tries not to think about Noah and concentrate on the work piling up on his desk. It's surprised him how much work it takes to do what they do here. Everyone cares about every aspect of this campaign and he has people entering and leaving his office all the time. Most of the time it annoys Luke that he has to talk with so many people. His job has always been just him.

But today he wishes it wasn't so slow. He could use the distraction to keep from getting up and running to Noah's office. He wants as much time as he can with him. His stomach recoils at the thought that this will be the last time he ever sees Noah. That the next time – he won't actually be there for that. He couldn't take seeing a lifeless Noah.

He puts one hand to his stomach, moving as fast as he can to the bathroom just next to his office. Luke barely makes it to the toilet before the small amount of breakfast he'd managed to choke down comes back up. He gags at the taste of bile against his throat. Fumbling for the handle, he flushes to make the stench leave his nose and mouth. He stands on shaking legs, knees trembling as he steps toward the sink, washes his mouth out, splashing his face.

He avoids the reflection in the mirror.

It still feels wrong.

This whole thing is wrong.

He knows it deep in his gut.

Maybe it is like Zoe says. He's never had to know one of his marks before. It's harder to believe what you know about people when their humanity gets in the way. Damian once told him the worst of men still loved something. Luke isn't sure he agrees but it makes him doubt his feelings. He sees Noah as a person – a funny, gorgeous, sexy person – and that's clouding his judgment.

He can do this.

All he needs is to get through the rest of this day, go home and wait for the next morning when Noah will be –

Shoving the thought out of his mind, he starts back to his office. He can't help but take another glance into Noah's office. He needs to see him as much as he can. What he sees makes him stop in his tracks.

There's a woman sitting on Noah's desk, head thrown back in a laugh and when he gets a clear look at her face, his heart tumbles to his feet. He knows it's not possible. There's a marked difference. The eyes aren't quite right and her hair is lighter but –

He's looking right at his mother.

She glances up and straight at him, halting mid-sentence when she sees him. Her smile is bright, like he remembers, and she waves at him. He catches himself waving back before he can stop himself. Noah stands next to her, says something quietly to her and she rolls her eyes and he can read the 'duh' in that expression.

When Noah beckons him over, he goes, against his need to disappear into the floor. He reaches the office in time to hear Noah say, “You are such a pain, Faith, I swear.”

She giggles, swats a hand at his hair and the look on her face can only be described as adoring. She turns it on him and Luke notes that it doesn't change in any way. “Luke.” Her voice is confident but kind and it sparks a memory of his mother’s. Sliding down from the desk, she holds her hand out to him and grins. “Faith.”

He blinks down at it then back up when she laughs.

“Yeah, okay, maybe a little too formal, right?”

Her smile is contagious and finds that he can't help the way his mouth twitches in response. “ Just a little bit. But considering we don't know each other I'll overlook it.”

She shoves him gently on the shoulder and he can't help staring at her.

“I need to talk to Casey for a minute. You going to hang for a few minutes?” Noah directs the question at both of them.

“I can't talk for Faith but I'm getting a paycheck to wait for you.”

Faith hides her laugh in her hand and Luke's chest hurts at the slow smile Noah sends his way. He kisses Faith's cheek as he passes her by then brushes a hand across Luke's stomach, leaves a trail of warmth before he walks out the door.

He makes himself look back at Faith and asks the first thing that comes to mind. “He's probably a great brother.”

Her eyes soften and she smiles sweetly. “He is. Of course, he is. But I still missed you. We used to make up stories about you. Me and Noah. About what it would be like to get to meet you and how we would be like The Three Muskeeters or something.”

Luke can't breathe, but he can't look away from Faith's face.

“Once we actually planned to run away and find you. We were going to make your father let us see you. We got as far as the bus station before Dad caught up with us.” She leans back on the desk, sighing wistfully. “Imagine having the two greatest brothers in the world on your side. _So_ would have gotten away with more than I did.”

Luke's laugh chokes in his throat, emotions making it hard for any sound to come out and when Faith touches his cheek and winks, he wishes he could have given her what she'd wanted.

 

  


 

Luke’s been trying to process the events that just happened that past hour. He’s just seen his sister. _His sister_. As in flesh and blood. He doesn’t really remember her. But she has the same eyes, the same face. Lily’s face. Ones that he’s only really seen in pictures. Luke had felt like he’d seen a ghost. He’d been so mad at first, but after everything…. God. Seeing her, seeing her with _Noah_. How easily they interacted and how familiar. It makes Luke ache with the feelings he’s buried for so long, he doesn’t remember having them anymore.

And she had spoken to Luke like no time had passed. Like they’d spoken just yesterday, instead of never speaking at all. He admits that maybe he hadn’t been fair, holding a grudge for nearly two decades against the entire family when Faith had barely been one year old when everything happened. Now Noah wants him to consider going to Oakdale with him, seeing _them_ , and Luke doesn’t think he can do it. He’s not ready. Still not ready to let go of all the bitterness. Something he’s clung to all these years and in some twisted way, has kept him going through every assignment, fueling him.

But another part of him, a bigger part that he has trouble admitting to, wants more of an explanation. In person. Wants to ask so many questions, mostly _why_.

Luke shakes his head to clear it. He has more important, pressing issues at the moment. He’s made a decision, one that has more of a chance of failing rather than succeeding. And he needs all his brain cells firing off in the right direction if he has a shit chance in hell of making it work and getting them all out alive.

Because Luke knows now. _Noah’s innocent_. He has to be. Every instinct he’s had since the beginning of this case pushes him towards that conclusion. He doesn’t know _how_ he knows, especially when all the concrete evidence proves otherwise. All the paperwork Damian had given him, the accounts and records he had spied on in the hidden cabinet in Reg’s office, they all prove Noah’s guilt. But Luke knows they’re wrong and he doesn’t have an explanation for it.

It’s just not possible, not for the Noah that he’s gotten to know. The Noah that gives his secretary flowers for her birthday, remembers all the new interns’ names, smiles at the barista down the street every morning when he gets his coffee, sending her blushing to the roots of her neon pink hair, and the Noah that had made his little sister laugh, such love and affection in her eyes for him—that’s the _real_ Noah.

And there’s the way Noah is with him.

The Company got it wrong. Or Damian got it wrong, gotten some false records somehow, sent him after the wrong guy. Or _something_. Whatever it is, Luke needs to figure it out. And quick. Before The Company figures out he’s not going to be closing this case in the way they want him to.

First things first, he needs to figure out a way to get back into Noah’s apartment and switch back his medication before he takes it for the evening. At that thought, Luke suddenly wonders if Noah had taken his pills with him to work. Sometimes he does that, so he doesn’t forget to take them later that night, because he usually has people badgering him about it at the office.

With some panic, Luke bolts from his office and runs towards Noah’s.

Noah is filling out some forms when Luke appears at the door of his office, a little bit out of breath and his faced flushed. Noah looks up and immediately stands, meeting Luke halfway across the room.

“Hey,” he begins softly. Unsure what kind of mood Luke’s in since the Faith incident and their conversation after but the way he’s looking at him frantically now can’t be a good sign. “What’s wrong? Did something else happen?”

Luke’s eyes roam all over his face as if trying to find something misplaced. “Have you taken your meds yet?” he finally blurts out. _Smooth_.

“Um…no. I don’t have them with me. I was gonna leave early tonight. Actually in about a half hour, so I left them at home. Why?”

Luke lets out a relived sigh and Noah is seriously confused. Luke backtracks. “Sorry. That’s not really what I meant to say when I came to find you. My mind is completely shot, it’s been a long freaking day. And I just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget to take them, you know, after everything that happened earlier.”

“I’m more concerned about you, Luke.” Noah’s face shows he really is. “You look about dead on your feet. Why don’t you go home? I’m sure you can catch up with everything else tomorrow. Seriously. I don’t want you passing out on me.”

Luke’s shouts a mental victory at the opening. “I think I will. But I don’t know if I can sleep. Too restless. And I still have to eat, haven’t eaten since last night actually and I don’t think I have the—”

“Oh my god. You’re coming home with me, Grimaldi. How you managed to take care of yourself once you reached adulthood, I have no idea.”

“If that’s how you get every guy to come with you, I have my own questions about your existence too.”

Noah laughs and starts to usher him out. “Things will be strictly PG tonight because I’m going to feed you some of Emma’s famous chicken noodle soup and we’re going to watch another movie. This time I give you permission to sleep through it.”

Luke lets himself be led out. “Have you always been this bossy?”

“Comes with the job description.”

“Okay, but you have to promise you’ll take your meds only after you’ve had a decent meal in your stomach.”

Noah sighs. “I promise, Casey.”

“You kill me with your wit. You really do. I gotta stop by the hotel first, drop some things off and I’ll meet at your place.”

“Okay.”

Luke kisses him once before turning to walk to his car.

“Hey, Luke?” Noah calls out before Luke is out of earshot.

Luke turns back around to look at him and walks over, fingers reaching to Luke’s face and smoothing down and eyebrow with his thumb. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”

Luke sucks in a breath that Noah can probably feel underneath his thumb before letting it out slowly. He desperately wants to believe Noah but Noah doesn’t know everything, and when he does, Luke knows Noah’s not going to want anything to do with him.

“Thank you.” He squeezes and kisses the hand around his face before getting in his car and driving.

 

  


 

“Have you not heard from him?”

“No, sir.”

Damian sighs. It wasn’t like his son to not check in or answer his phone and he’s actually starting to worry.

Zoe notices and tries to divert him. “I’m sure he’s fine, Uncle. You know Luke. He might be the best but he’s also scatterbrained. It’s only been a day, I’m sure he’ll check in by tonight.”

“You will let me know if you from him.”

“Of course.”

“You are dismissed.”

Zoe leaves and heads back to her quarters. She picks up her phone and sees a coded message from Luke. She deciphers it before deleting it and shrugs her coat on. She knows that the main rooms of the estate are monitored, so she heads out, a nod to the guards at the gates, letting them know she’s leaving for the night to do some Intel on her latest assignment. Once she clears the property surveillances, she turns her car around to the other direction, heading towards a place she and Luke had deemed their own little secret home-away-from-home when they were ten, before calling Luke back.

 

  


 

One of these days, Luke’s thinks, he’ll arrive at Noah’s place with the intent to climb him like a tree and push him down to the nearest available flat surface (or any surface, really, he’s not picky) until they’re both naked and panting in each other’s mouths.

Instead he’s a bundle of nerves as Noah ushers him in. He can already smell the soup coming from the kitchen and his stomach gives a half-hearted growl.

“You feeling a little better?”

Luke nods. “Do you mind if I use your bathroom to wash up?”

“No, go right ahead. You know where it is.”

Luke takes off his coat and places it on the couch and Noah busies himself in the kitchen. Once inside, he locks the door again and takes out the ziplock bag. The sense of _déjà vu_ leaves him feeling a little dizzy as he quickly makes the switch back and then flushes the offending capsules down the toilet. As he watches the blue disappear with the water Luke’s breath catches in his throat.

He’d done it. He really is about to screw The Company over. He is so _fucked_. But when he looks at himself in the mirror, his eyes are clear for the first time in a long time, and he feels a sense of peace. No matter what the outcome, he knows he’s done the right thing. Done right by Noah, and that thought is enough to get him through what he knows he’s going to need to do next.

When he comes back out, Noah is already setting two bowls at the table. “All right. Sit. Eat.”

“Two nights in a row, Mayer. I should keep you.”

Noah drops a kiss on the corner of his mouth and says, “I don’t mind. I like taking care of you.”

There’s a fluttering in Luke’s chest that makes its way all over his body, down to his knees until he feels like they’re about to give out. But he knows if they do, Noah will be right there to catch him.

 _Yeah,_ he thinks, tracing a finger along Noah’s jaw, _you’re worth it._

 

  


 

“You were right, Luke. The records you were given and all the information you were told are not completely accurate.”

Luke rubs at his face several times until his vision blurs. “What else did you find out?”

Zoe sighs at the other end of the line. “Not much on Mayer or on why they want Mayer dead. But the records are completely wrong. Wait, I should rephrase that. Some of it is wrong, some of it is right.”

Luke is so confused. “I don’t follow.”

“The target _is_ Mayer but I don’t why specifically. I couldn’t risk trying to get more information without someone noticing or breathing down my back. But the files you were given had been falsified. There’s no smuggling, nothing that has to do with prostitution in regards to Mayer. But there _are_ records of missing funds and someone is definitely stealing from the campaign.”

“Who is it?”

“Some guy called Reg Addington. I figured that whoever wants Mayer dead, wants to bring down the entire campaign too and has been digging up everything they can to try and blacklist them, smear their good name.”

Luke knew about Reg but he still has no idea why they had to bring Noah into this. “Do you know the reasons why he’s stealing from the campaign?”

“Yup. Addington here has dug himself deep in a big ol’ hole of gambling debts. Seems like he’s been in trouble for a while. Records go as far back as four years.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Luke can’t believe it. Reg didn’t seem like the type. He knew from Noah that he and Reg had gone to college together and were pretty close all through those years. Close enough that he had hired Reg as his accountant. Close enough that Reg was among the pictures hanging up in Noah’s apartment. He would have never had guessed that that was the reason behind the theft. But then again, Luke doesn’t know Reg at all.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, cousin.”

 _Yeah, and that apparently includes stealing from the people that you love and not caring if you bring them down with you._ “Are you sure about everything else?”

“Absolutely. I double-checked and triple-checked and every other kind of check in between. Your boy didn’t do anything that you were told.”

Despite everything, Luke can’t help feel a huge sense of relief and a burden had been lifted, that his gut instinct had been correct.

“There’s something else that you should know, Luke.”

The tone of Zoe’s voice doesn’t sound good at all. “Okay. What is it?”

“These records were all found in Damian’s office.”

Luke freezes. Doesn’t like what Zoe’s trying to say. “Wait, how the hell did you even get in and—”

“I have my ways.”

Right. But Luke can’t pay attention anymore because the implications that he’d been seeing, the little clues that he’d been trying to ignore are now smacking him in his face.

“My father lied to me.” Saying it out loud doesn’t make him feel better.

Zoe’s tone is sympathetic when she says, “Yes, because The Company wanted you on this case and—”

“—and he knew that I wouldn’t take it unless it was some scumbag asshole.”

There’s silence on other end for a moment and then, “I’m sorry, Luke.”

Luke doesn’t hear her. Because he’s too focused on the fact that he could have Noah without ever knowing the truth.

“I have to go.”

He knows Zoe wants to argue but all she says is, “Okay,” and the line disconnects.

Luke lets his cell drop to the floor and doesn’t pick it up. Because he knows if he does, he’ll have the urge place another call back to New York. To where Damian is and yell and scream at him until he has no voice left.

But Luke can’t do that. Not yet. He can’t tip anyone off that he’s going against orders. Just this morning he had finally reported back and let them know that he had hit a snag. That Noah had recently changed medication so his original plan to mix the meds would not work. Had asked for more time and they had given it to him. He bullshitted his way throughout the entire report and it wasn’t until after that he realized how second nature lying is now to him, how _easy_ it is, how good he is at it.

“Thanks, Dad. Guess you taught me well.”

 

  


 

Noah is sure there’s something wrong with his hearing or a joke is being played on him because none of this is right and none of it is making any sense. But Luke’s face is earnest and open in front of him and he swallows the denial at the tip of his tongue.

“Are you…sure?”

Luke had decided to tell Noah as soon as he could, felt like he deserved to know. But watching the shock and the painful expression go through Noah’s face, he almost regrets it.

“Yeah. This was part of the reason I’ve been so weird lately. I found out a week ago and have been trying to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.” Well, it wasn’t a _complete_ lie.

“How did you even find this out?”

“I came across it in some of the records that I was looking at when I was trying to catch up on the campaign. I guess he’s been getting sloppy covering his tracks.” Luke tries not to cringe at the lies, but he can’t tell Noah everything. Not yet.

Noah gets up and starts pacing. “I just can’t believe it. I mean, Reg? He’s never gambled in his life. Doesn’t even know _how_. Casey and I beat him at poker every time and I _suck_ at poker.”

“Everyone has their secrets, Noah,” Luke says and quickly adds, “Look, you don’t have to believe me. You can ask him yourself. Ask to check out the original files.”

Noah stops pacing and stands directly in front of Luke, hands going to Luke’s arms. “I’m sorry, Luke. It’s not that I’m calling you a liar.” Luke tenses briefly but Noah continues. “I just need time to process this and, yeah, I will ask him. Though I have no clue how to bring it up.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

Noah’s arms go around him and Luke takes that as a yes. He rests his chin on a shoulder, turning his face into Noah’s neck. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

“Me too.”

They stand there in silence for a moment before Noah muses out loud, “I feel like I should have seen or noticed something. I know he’s been looking stressed out and exhausted lately but we all have. This campaign has been pretty demanding for all of us. But you said this has been going on for four years? God. How did I not notice?”

Luke pulls back and puts both hands on either side of Noah’s face. “Noah, you can’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. Gambling; it’s one of those addictions that sometimes catches you off-guard because you never think you can get addicted to something as general as that.”

Noah shakes his head. “I still should have noticed something. I mean, I know Reg and I aren’t as close as we were when we dated but he’s still a good friend.”

“Wait, you two dated?” Luke wants to smack himself for zeroing in on that part. But Noah is now looking slightly sheepish.

“Yeah, back at Northwestern for about a year.”

“Wow. Do you stay friends with all your exes?” Luke can’t help but ask.

Noah’s arms are around him again and Luke clings back. Noah’s mumbling something into Luke’s shoulder and he can barely make it out but Luke thinks he hears, “I have a hard time letting go of people.”

Luke’s hold tightens around Noah, because yeah. He can relate at the moment.

 

  


 

For all the drama that Luke thinks will go down, it’s surprisingly a calm affair. Luke had been expecting Reg to deny it but he doesn’t. He actually looked defeated and resigned when Noah had asked him like he had just been waiting to get caught. Maybe he wanted to be.

The look on Noah’s face, however, is something Luke never wishes to see again. It’s a mixture of disappointment, anger, and heartbreak and Luke fights the urge to punch Reg in the face. But Luke doesn’t really have a leg to stand on, with everything else he’s keeping from Noah, so he forces his fists at his sides and offers Noah all the silent support that he can.

“Noah, let me explain.”

Noah pinches the bridge of his nose. “What’s there to explain? You’ve been stealing thousands of dollars from the campaign. Do you have _any_ idea how much damage you’ve caused? Any idea at all?”

Reg flinches back like Noah had hit him. “I was desperate, Noah. I had no choice.”

“You always have a choice, Reg.”

“We lost the house!” Reg is starting to get a little hysterical and Luke hovers by Noah’s side. “Tony doesn’t know yet. And god, I can’t tell him. Noah. I don’t know how I’m going to.”

Noah’s angry expression softens a little. “Does he even know about your problem?”

“Yes,” Reg whispers. “Things haven’t been so…good lately between us. And he doesn’t know yet, about the house. And there are people that I’m indebted to. And they’re dangerous and I can’t…I can’t put him through that.”

“Jesus, Reg. Why didn’t you tell me? Tell any of us? We could have helped you. Especially Casey. You knew out of anyone, Casey would understand. I just don’t get why you didn’t say anything, after all this time.”

Luke takes in Reg’s downcast eyes, slumped shoulders, and pale face, like he hasn’t slept in days. He looks about two feet tall. Luke tries to ignore the parallels between him and Reg but he sees them, bright and clear. He doesn’t think about how it’d feel to have Noah’s face, full of disappointment and betrayal, directed towards him.

“I was ashamed. I thought I could fix it.”

They’re all silent for a few moments, their breathing the only thing audible between them. Then, “Grayson knows, Reg. I had to tell him. He wants you to leave quietly while we try to do damage control. Make sure this doesn’t get too far into the media circuits. I’m so sorry. There wasn’t anything I could do.”

Reg nods. “I figured as much. Don’t be sorry, Noah. Please. I can’t even begin to apologize for any of this. Just...don’t hate me.”

Noah sighs, looking a lot older than his twenty-seven years. “I don’t hate you. But Reg, you’re going to have to…I mean…,” Noah swallows. “Grayson wants to press charges.”

Reg’s face pales but he nods again, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “What do I have to do?”

“Come down to the station and we’ll take it from there.”

“Okay. Okay. Do I have time to…at least tell Tony?”

Noah looks at him sadly. “Yeah, let’s go. I’ll drive you.”

They all walk out of the office building and Reg gets inside the passenger side of Noah’s car, staring straight through the windshield but probably not really seeing anything. Luke catches Noah’s arm before he gets behind the wheel.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Not really, but I will be.” They kiss and Luke tries to ease some of the tension out of Noah, pulling back a little to plant a kiss on his cheek, his chin, his nose, his forehead. And Noah smiles. “Wait for me back at my apartment?”

“Of course.”

Noah gets in the car and Luke sees him lean over, say something to Reg. Reg nods numbly and Luke watches them drive away.

 

  


 

When Noah enters his apartment Luke is asleep on the couch. He’s not surprised, everything had taken longer than he expected. He’s still trying to forget about the huge fight Reg and Tony had before Noah drove them to the station. More official-looking and important people were called and all Noah could see was an empty shell of his friend being read his rights and then handcuffed and taken away.

He really wishes he could fucking forget this day.

He puts his keys down on the coffee table, trying not to disturb Luke. Reaching for the remote, he turns off the t.v. before setting it back down quietly. He takes this moment to look at Luke, his features soft and unguarded. Face devoid of the wrinkles that sometimes crease the corners of his eyes, the frown lines on his forehead that Noah always wants to smoothe away. He wishes he knew some of the reasons why Luke is holding himself back from so many things. Wants to know how he can fix it, how he can help. But he can’t do any of that until Luke lets him in.

He sighs and his fingers automatically move to brush strands of hair from Luke’s face. He’s debating whether or not to wake him up. He’s loath to because Luke looks so peaceful and Noah knows he’s been having trouble sleeping. But he doesn’t him want to wake up and feel disoriented, not know where he is and possibly panic at having fallen asleep at Noah’s couch. He leans down, brushes a light kiss to Luke’s forehead, and his decision is made for him when he pulls back and sleepy, brown eyes are staring back at him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Luke rubs at his face in the way that makes him look like a little boy and Noah smiles. “I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

“Don’t be.”

Luke sits up and Noah moves to join him on the couch. “How did it go?”

Noah arranges them so he’s pressed up against Luke’s side, Luke’s head tucked into his shoulder, his ear pressed on top of Noah’s chest. “It went exactly as you’d think it’d go. Reg didn’t fight, he just looked so defeated. And then they just took him, I have no idea when his hearing date is yet, or what’s even going to happen to him. I made some calls, got a hold of Casey.”

“How did he take it?”

“I think he took it worse than me. Kept saying that he should have seen the signs because he _knew_ the signs. He kept beating himself up over it.”

Luke shifts to look up at Noah, fingers grabbing his chin and turning his face to look at him. “You guys have to stop blaming yourselves for this. It’s not going to do you any good, or Reg any good, or _anyone_ any good. Okay?”

Noah kisses the thumb by his mouth. “Who’s the bossy one now?”

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, Mayer.”

Noah brings their faces together to kiss him properly and rests their foreheads together. “I need a vacation. Need to get out of here for a couple of days or something. I want you to come with me.”

He feels the deep breath that Luke takes. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea for me right now. I’ve got some loose ends I need to tie up in the next few days.”

“Like what?”

“Where would you go anyway?”

Noah pulls back and stares at Luke curious about the change of subject but answers, “I don’t know yet. Oakdale, probably. Go to see Holden and Emma. Maybe my Uncle Jack.”

“Oh,” is all Luke says before sitting further up on the couch. He’s not touching Noah anymore and Noah feels a flash of irritation.

“Luke.”

Luke gets up and walks by the window. “Can we not talk about this?”

Noah is not sure if it’s the stress of the entire day and everything that’s happened that makes him do it. Or if it’s just the frustration building up and finally bubbling over at Luke’s avoidance of the subject but he doesn’t let this go. Not this time.

“Too bad. Because I want to talk about it.”

Luke snaps his gaze at him and glares. “I thought we talked plenty enough about it when Faith showed up.”

“That’s not the same, Luke. You still won’t tell me anything. Refuse to tell me the reasons why you don’t want anything to do with the Snyders. I mean, from everything I’ve been told growing up, I can guess. But I don’t want to, I want to hear it from you.”

“Why? Why is it so important to you?”

“Because they’re my _family_ , Luke. And if we’re going to do this thing, whatever this is between us, you’re going to have to learn to deal with that.” Noah doesn’t miss the way Luke flinches. “I just want to understand.”

Luke glares at him again. “What’s so hard to understand, Noah? They didn’t want me. End of story. There’s really nothing so complicated about that.”

Noah reels back. “Wait, what?”

“Are you deaf?”

“ _What?_ ”

“You know what? I’m not going to do this.”

Luke rushes past Noah and Noah snaps out of it in time to grab Luke by the arm, stopping him. “Is that what you thought all this time?”

Noah’s fingers are digging into his arm hard but Luke barely feels it, too busy trying to fight off the anger in his veins. “There’s nothing to think about, it is what it is.”

“Except that it’s _not_. How can you think that your own family didn’t want you?”

Luke wrenches his arm from Noah’s grasp, his rage boiling over. “Oh I don’t know, maybe it’s because they just gave me away. Blamed me for my mom’s accident because I had the _nerve_ to survive when she didn’t? Because after that they couldn’t even look at me anymore without being reminded of it so instead they chose not to look at me all?”

Luke is breathing so hard, he actually thinks he might pass out. He hasn’t talked about this in years, never let himself feel it. He’s dizzy from the emotion, from the past couple of months, from _everything_ , and this is the worst idea he’s ever had. Thinking he could let himself actually want, could let himself have Noah without paying the consequences.

Noah’s eyes are wide and so so blue as they stare right at him in shock. “Is that what he told you?”

“What?”

“Your father. Damian. Is that what he told you? Because it’s not true, Luke. None of it. Oh my god.”

Noah’s shock is enough to deflate some of Luke’s anger. “What are you talking about?”

Noah doesn’t seem to hear him and starts muttering, “I mean, I had some suspicions. We all did. Figured that he was feeding you poison about us. But, god Luke, none of it is true. Holden, Emma, Lucinda, Faith, everyone, they all love you. Had tried for years to get you back when Damian took you away.”

Luke doesn’t realize that his knees started to give out until Noah’s by his side, an arm around him, guiding him back to the couch. When they’re both on it he turns to Noah, feeling numb all over. “They wanted me?”

“Yes. Every day since you’ve been born. Tried to fight Damian. And then after, when they tried to come and see you, to talk to you, either you or Damian would turn them away.”

“I was so mad,” Luke whispers. “I didn’t want anything to do with them. He told me…he said…I believed him.” There’s a pause where it sounds like Luke is not breathing at all and then, “I hate him.”

“Luke.”

“I do. You have no idea, Noah. All the lies. I can’t even…I don’t know even know what to _do_ right now. I don’t know what to think.”

Noah doesn’t know either. So he does the only thing he does know. He wraps his arms around Luke, pressing a kiss to his temple and on the top of his head, holds him and hopes it’s all right, that it’s enough. Luke is still in his arms but he doesn’t push Noah away.

After awhile Noah thinks that Luke has fallen asleep but there’s a shift underneath him and he feels Luke take a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Noah. This was the last thing you needed after today.”

Noah waits until Luke is looking at him before he speaks. “This isn’t some kind of competition for who has the worst days, Luke, so don’t apologize.”

“I can’t believe I believed him. All these years…I’m so fucking stupid.”

“You were _four_ , Luke. He’s been telling you lies since then. I don’t think you can be held accountable.”

Luke runs a hand through his hair, messing it up in frustration. “I’m just so fucking tired. Of everything. _From_ everything. I just want to go to sleep and never wake up.”

“Sleep here.” Luke raises a surprised eyebrow at him. “I mean, spend the night here. We don’t have to do anything. It’s just… this entire freaking day has been complete and utter hell and I don’t want to be alone right now. And I don’t want _you_ to be alone right now, especially after finding all of this out.”

Luke looks at him, considering. “We just sleep?”

Noah nods. “We just sleep.”

Luke slumps against him. “Good. Cause that sounds so fucking incredible right now, you have no idea.”

Noah smiles and stands up, taking Luke with him. They shuffle into the bedroom like zombies, only having enough energy to take off their pants before collapsing on top of the sheets and blankets. Luke instinctively moves closer to Noah, reaching for him until they’re facing each other, a tangle of limbs. Noah’s fingers trace his cheek down to his mouth.

Luke leans in and kisses him, tongue doing lazily patterns against Noah’s. Noah moans softly, shifting closer, burying his fingers in the hair on Luke’s nape and opening his mouth further, nibbling a little on Luke’s bottom lip. Noah’s entire body throbs but he knows they can’t do any more tonight. They’re too tired, hyped up on too many emotions, so he pulls back with no small amount of regret, giving Luke one last soft kiss. Luke burrows into his warmth, taking Noah’s arm and wrapping it around his waist.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Noah.”

“Tomorrow,” Noah agrees. And they sleep.

 

  


 

The morning light hits his face, makes Luke scrunch his eyes shut and he hears a low chuckle. He scowls in return, rolling over on the bed to bury his face in Noah's neck, breathes deep in sleep and heat and Noah. He shivers, shifts closer so that their bodies align everywhere, groaning when his hard cock presses against Noah's through their boxers, catches the moan that escapes in his mouth, hands threading through the hair at the nape of Noah's neck. He forgets about everything except for the feel of Noah's skin under his hand, the stale taste of his breath against Luke's tongue. Noah's fingers find their way under his clothes, splay out across his back as he pushes him closer, rolls so he's on top.

There's a shrill sound penetrating the haze of having Noah like this and Luke realizes it's the phone about one second after Noah does. He shakes his head, follows Noah's mouth when he pulls back. “Don't answer that.”

He feels Noah's laugh against his lips, grips tighter on Noah's head to keep him in place. Noah makes a pleased humming sound and gently extracts himself from Luke's embrace. “It could be about Reg.”

Luke blinks, nodding when he realizes what he was about to do. “Right. Yeah. Go get it.”

Noah grins at him, kisses him slow and lingering until Luke shoves him out of the bed. “Go before I tie you to this bed.” There's a quick spark in Noah's eyes and Luke thinks _oh, that'll be good._

He watches Noah leave the bed, stepping into jeans before throwing him a heated look over his shoulder as he answers the phone. “Noah Mayer.”

He sees the shift in Noah's face, the way it softens, eyes widening as he looks away. “Hey. No. I'm okay.” There's a long pause and Luke sits up, fingers clenching around the covers. “I promise I'm not lying to you.” Noah rolls his eyes, one corner of his mouth turning up. “You do realize I'm a grown man, right?” His eyes lock with Luke's and he motions with his head to the door, mouthing 'Holden' before he walks out.

Luke stays in the bed for a full minute, staring down at his hands while everything Noah told him the night before runs through his mind. He knows it's the truth. Deep down he probably always has, but he didn't want to believe that Damian would do that to him. His father loved him, that he was sure of, but Luke also knew how Damian felt about losing. His anger wells up until he wants to smash something, wants to rage and hit and hate.

He takes a deep breath, shakes out of that and makes a quick decision. He finds his pants on the floor, pulls them on, not bothering to button them and rushes out of the room, following the sound of Noah's voice. He finds him leaning against the kitchen counter. The coffee machine is whirring, the smell of it filling up the room. Luke focuses on Noah, the furrowed brow, lines visible, tight on his mouth.

“Things are kind of up in the air and I can't – no, that wouldn't be a good idea. I promise I'll visit in a few days when things calm down and you can see for yourself I'm not lying about being okay. You can report back to Emma that I haven't wasted away to nothing.” His voice holds a note of affection that Luke recognizes.

“Honestly? I'm not sure if I'm doing him any favors. I feel like I'm taking away everything he cares about.”

Luke's heart stutters in his chest and he clears his throat. If this was anyone else, he would laugh at the way Noah's head jerks around, eyes comically wide when he sees him there. “Hey. I'll just be another minute.”

He shakes his head, moves in closer, reaching for Noah's hips. His eyes flick to the phone and Noah gives him a confused look, says quietly, “Holden? Can you give me just a minute?” He pulls the phone away, covering the mouthpiece, his eyes never leaving Luke's. “What's going on?”

The thought is crazy. But he needs to, wants to know everything, because everything in his life has been a lie. Except for Noah. He thinks that anything Noah touches will be true and real. “Does he want to see you?”

Noah nods slowly. “He's a little worried.”

“Yeah.” Luke's head falls down to lean against Noah's shoulder, and he’s holding his breath when he says, “Ask him to come up here.”

Noah goes stock still in his arms and Luke dares to look up at him. He seems shocked but he nods quickly, brings the phone back up to his ear. “You still there? I know I said I couldn't come up but --” he glances down at Luke, gives him an out, but when Luke doesn't say anything else he continues, “Why don't you come down here? I think there's someone who wants to talk with you.”

Luke presses his face into Noah' neck, feels the his world tip on its axis when Noah's hand curls around the back of his head. He barely make out the deep timbre of Holden's voice as he says something. Noah's hold tightens and he puffs out a laugh.

“I'm with you there. But yeah, I'm sure it's what he wants.”

Luke closes his eyes and tries to breathe through the twist in his stomach.

This is something he needs to do.

 

  


 

Noah convinces him to take a shower even though he didn't have anything to change into. “You can wear some of my clothes.” He catches the happy little grin Noah gives the table when he says that and yeah. That's all he needs to see.

“When you get out, breakfast will be ready.” Noah kisses him, pushes him toward the door. His voice is soft, cautious as he says, “It'll take at least an hour before he gets here.”

Luke stares at him. “You're not going to ask why I want to see him?”

“If you want to tell me, you will.” He brushes his hand over Luke's cheek, drops a quick peck on his lips and then turns back toward the kitchen. He's giving him time, and Luke, seriously, wants to keep him forever. The pang in his heart reminds him that Noah isn't going to accept him for what he is, that he's ruined every chance to have him for more than a few stolen moments. He shakes the thought out of his mind, concentrates on not freaking out because he's about to meet the man who was supposed to be his dad.

“Get a grip, Grimaldi.”

The shower helps to clear his mind, washes some of the nerves away, and when he steps back into the kitchen, he's calmer, focused. He can do this. It's not like he hasn't endured worse things. Bullets were more scary than his would-be-father's opinion.

Noah gives him a concerned look when he enters the kitchen, sitting quietly at the small table with him.

“Are you okay?”

Luke nods, his smile reassuring as he glance up at Noah. “I will be.” He reaches for Noah's hand, laces their fingers together before turning back to his plate. The breakfast is so good and he wonders if Noah learned to cook from Emma. He can't imagine that Lucinda would know how to cook like this. He squeezes Noah's hand to get his attention and when blue eyes look at him, that tightness in his chest loosens. “I – if I forget to say this later – thank you.”

Noah grins. “You're welcome.”

They spend the better part of half an hour trying not to touch one another. Luke realizes that if they do, then it's going to be beyond awkward when Holden gets there because Luke's going to make sure the next time he touches Noah, they're naked and sweaty on a bed, or couch, or floor. So, it's probably for the best they avoid any contract.

Noah's on the phone with Casey when the doorbell rings. He glances at Luke when he freezes, says a quick goodbye to Casey then walks to the door. Luke stands a few feet away, and he breathes in and out and back in when Noah opens the door.

Holden Snyder's face is a mix of concern and fondness when he looks at Noah. He doesn't say anything, greets him with a hug that lasts half a minute. Luke fidgets, pushes down the urge to hide, and then Holden's letting Noah go. He seems to be studying Noah, eyes scanning over him to make sure he's whole. “You plan on telling me what happened with Reg?”

Noah nods. “Eventually.”

Holden makes a noise Luke can't interpret, steps into the apartment and his eyes fall on Luke. He stops where he stands, so many emotions crossing his face that Luke can't tell one from the other. The smile he receives is nervous but kind. “Luke.” Holden walks slowly, stays a few feet away from him, then stares long and hard. Luke sees his eyes are bright, glassy, and he didn't mean for that to happen.

Holden reads his face because he shakes his head, wipes at his eyes. “It's just – you look a lot like your mother. A little overwhelming.” He motions to Noah. “Thank you for taking care of him, by the way. He said you were the one that figured out whatever it was that happened with Reg.” Luke ignores the guilt that stabs at his heart and nods in return.

Noah takes that as his cue, moves past Holden, one hand on his arm for a brief second, and stops in front of Luke. He brushes their mouths together. “I'll be in the other room if you need me.”

Luke doesn't want him to go and his fingers twitch at the need to have him right there with him. But he has to face this alone, and Noah is smart enough to know that. Cares about him too much to stand in the way even if that's not how it is. He watches him disappear into his bedroom, door closing softly behind him.

He looks back at Holden.

“Would you like some coffee? Noah just made a second pot.”

Holden smiles, hands held behind his back. “Noah makes good coffee.”

They walk silently into the kitchen, pour themselves a cup, and then Luke motions to the table. He taps his fingers on the ceramic cup nervously. Holden seems to be giving him time, doesn't push the way Lucinda had when they'd meet, and that makes it easier to ask what he needs to.

“Was I – were we happy? You and me and Mom?” He stops, gets a flash of his mother's smiling face, holding a baby in her arms as she talked to him. “And Faith. Was it – ?”

Holden sips his coffee, smile soft around the edges. “We were happy. It was a good life.”

“But I wasn't yours.”

Holden eyes flash and his cup makes a thud when he sets it down on the table hard. “You are. You're my son.” He seems to contemplate what else to say before he continues. “When you were born – it was a stormy night and we couldn't get your mom to a hospital. We were stranded and you were coming fast, unexpected. I remember that like it was yesterday. Watching you appear, hearing your cry for the first time, holding you. It didn't matter how you came to my life, Luke. I loved you. I loved your mother. That was all that mattered.”

Luke's eyes burn and he looks away, focuses on the sink. “Why did you let him take me?”

Holden's voice is tight, angry. “I didn't. After Lily died, I was lost. I had two beautiful kids that I loved with all my heart and they would never get to know their mother. She was – everything. There was a lot of sorrow and confusion and pain. I was afraid for Lucinda – she was gone for a while. By the time we could all focus, Damian came for you. He was your biological father and the courts – it didn't matter, though, what they said. Lucinda and I fought them tooth and nail.” Luke watches as the memories seem to hit Holden. “By the time we got any rights to see you, Damian had disappeared.” He looks up at Luke, smile sad now. “It was up to him whether we could. We never gave up hope, though.”

Luke's hand grips the handle of his cup. “And he wasn't going to let that happen.” He knows full well how his father feels about Lucinda and the Snyders. “He kept you away.”

Holden nods. “We tried to keep in touch. We sent you birthday and Christmas presents. Wrote you letters. When Noah got his first video camera, he insisted on recording stuff to send you. Like our Fourth of July picnics and birthdays, graduations. Everything we could.” Holden looks down at his cup, swallows. “They were always sent back unopened.” He snorts quietly. “I even went to see you a few times.

Luke's eyes widen. “What happened?”

Holden shrugs. “I think you can imagine.”

“I hate him.”

“Don't.” Holden shakes his head. “Don't do that to yourself, Luke. Don't hate him. It's – it's damaging to feel that way about your father.”

He can't handle this – he'd let bitterness taint his whole life because he thought he was unwanted, thrown away. That this man – this good man – had given him up. And it was all a lie. He'd been loved and wanted and needed, even when there was no hope left for him.

“I wish—I could have been part of your family.”

“Hey. Look at me. You are a part of our family. Always have been. Don't ever forget that, kiddo.”

Luke wants to hug him. Remembers the feeling of Holden's arms, strong and sure and loving. But it's too early – or maybe too late – and he's done things that he doesn't think anyone can forgive him for.

“Thank you, Holden.”

“No need to, son. It's just the truth.”

Holden's acceptance is too much and Luke can't look at him, stares into the distance and lets the quiet fall over them again.

Noah comes back into the room, eyes going back and forth between them, and when Holden smiles wide, his own face relaxes and he gives Luke the brightest grin.

He might actually throw up.

Luke wants to give Noah some time with Holden, needs to be alone to think, so he stands up, shakes Holden’s hand and walks to the bedroom. He pauses when he reaches Noah and leans in to kiss him quickly, feeling the way his mouth curves up in a smile. Noah winks at him when he pulls away and it's the stupidest thing that it makes his stomach flip.

When he reaches the safety of the bedroom, he leans against the door, closes his eyes and breathes in and in and in. This wasn't what he'd expected taking this assignment. It had been a simple plan. One last job and he'd be free. Never have to pick up a weapon, never have to take another life, never have to answer to his father and The Company. Somewhere deep inside he'd known that was bullshit. There was no way they'd let him go. But he made himself believe, took it on so he could find his way out of the darkness.

And he had.

Because he'd found Noah.

And that had changed his whole life.

He rubs a hand over his aching forehead, hand trembling as he paces back and forth. Goddamn, Damian. Everything he’d said had been a lie. His entire life was based on lies and hate. He'd kept him from people that would have loved him. They would have given him a life where he wouldn’t have had blood on his hands by the time he was eighteen.

It wasn't enough that he'd taken that from him, but he was trying to take Noah.

Luke makes an angry sound.

There's a knock at the door and he moves forward to open it, and Noah's there, expression kind. He gives Luke a half-smile, opens his arms, and Luke doesn't think twice, lets himself fall into them. He feels the press of Noah's lips on his head, squeezes him tighter.

“I need to go down to see Tony. He sounded wrecked.”

Luke nods his head. “Okay. I'll wait here.”

“I'll be back soon.” Luke makes himself let go, steps back and tries for a smile. Noah looks a little amused, runs his hands over Luke's head, curls it around his neck. “You don't have to be fine with any of this.”

“I know.” Luke sucks in a breath, meets Noah's concerned stare. “It's just – I want to understand why?”

“Yeah. I would, too. And you don't think he'll tell you?”

Luke snorts in response.

“That's what I figured.” Noah's thoughtful for a moment, his other hand covering his mouth, and when he looks back at Luke, there's a doubtful curve to his mouth. “I think maybe there might be someone who could at least explain better what exactly happened.”

Luke blinks at him.

“Lucinda.”

He wants to talk with her. Somehow he doesn't think it'll end up like it had with Holden. Lucinda reminds him too much of his father. Her love comes with too many conditions. But Noah seems to trust her, loves her completely, and that means something.

“Should I call her?”

Noah shakes his head. “Remember I told you she had an apartment in the city for whenever she visits?” Luke raises an eyebrow and nods slowly. “It's the top floor.”

“You've got to be kidding me?”

Noah stifles a laugh. “She bought it after I got mine, yeah.”

“How have you not run away yet?”

That does make Noah laugh, shrugging as he pulls Luke closer, kissing him softly on the forehead, on one temple then the other, on his nose. His eyes are serious when they look straight into Luke's. “I don't scare off that easily.” Luke hugs him, buries his face in Noah's chest and hopes hard that that's true. He needs it to be.

“She's here by the way.” The words fall into his hair and Luke sighs, resigned at having to face Lucinda so soon.

“Fine. Stop being pushy.”

Noah laughs again, slides his hands to Luke's back and rubs circles into his shirt. “Now or never.”

Never. That might be good.

 

  


 

“I'm not in the mood to be yelled at, Luke. If that's the purpose of this visit then please turn around and walk out.” Lucinda snaps as soon as he appears in her doorway. She turns back inside, leaving the door open for him. It's Luke's choice to talk through it. He closes it behind him and follows her into what must pass as her office. He studies the room quietly, stopping when his gaze falls on the painting of him and his mother that graces the spot over the fireplace.

He's seen that exact same picture in the photo albums his father kept for him to look at.

“She was beautiful.”

Lucinda's steps falter until she's paused just behind her desk, glare softening into something else when her eyes look up at it. “She was.”

“You must have been very close.” There are vague memories of his mother laughing, his grandmother holding him close while they sat together.

“Despite our differences, we were.”

That surprises him and he brings his gaze down to Lucinda. “You didn't get along?”

Lucinda laughs quietly. “Oh, darling. We fought like cats and dogs. Very rarely saw eye-to-eye on anything.” Her eyes water and she shakes her head. “It's one of the things I miss about her the most.”

“I talked with Holden today.”

She nods at him. “I am aware. He called after leaving Noah's.” She spreads her hands out on the desk. “I am pleased that you gave him a chance to see you. He's missed you.”

Luke points at her. “Don't. Okay. Just don't push. I know you tried to fight for me. But you were the one who was willing to replace me with someone else.” Even if it was Noah, he was angry at her for doing that when he'd been waiting for them. It was irrational that he still had so much resentment aimed at her. Maybe it was biological, since his mother had apparently not gotten along with Lucinda.

She pales suddenly, fumbles for her chair as he falls into it. “I never – we tried, Luke. Everything we could to keep him away.”

Luke raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Her eyes close and she leans her head back against the chair. “Before you born, I was afraid that Damian would try to get at you, would lure Lily back into their relationship. I convinced her to keep you away from him. It was one of the only times she gave in to me and I-- I regret that.”

“Because it was the reason he was so determined to have me to himself after Mom died.”

“That's exactly it.”

Luke throws his hands up in the air. “Did you ever tell Holden this?”

She nods, looking as shamed as Luke thinks it's possible for Lucinda Walsh to look. “He didn't speak to me for almost a year. But he understood why I'd done that. Damian--” She cuts off whatever she was going to say, realizes that he's standing right here and despite everything he is Damian's son. “He does love you. That much I believe.”

He rubs his eyes hard, shakes his head, laughing as the weight of all this hits him. He can't forgive Damian for what he's done. For thrusting this life on Luke, knowing well what would become of him. But it hurts less to know that he hadn't done it with an intent to cause him any damage. At least not in the beginning, which is pretty much exactly how his father operates.

When he looks up, Lucinda is staring at him with a shrewd expression in her eyes and he meets them, steady. “You remind me of your mother.”

Everyone keeps saying that and it makes his insides feel warm, less coiled with bitterness. “That's what I've heard.”

She accepts that and clears her throat nervously. “I never stopped loving you, Luke. No matter the mistake I made that did this to you, all I ever wanted was your happiness. Everything was always about that for me. For all of us.”

He moves before he can second guess himself and is around her desk before she knows what happened. Her face is open and hopeful when he leans in, pulls her into a hug.

“I'm still angry.”

Lucinda laughs into his shoulder, her hands gentle on his arms. “That's not surprising at all, darling. As I said, you're very much your mother's son.”

He wishes he could get a chance to get to know this woman. It's not like he doesn't realize she would drive him crazy. He sees how Noah reacts to her at times, but there's good there, too. Things he could learn from her about himself that he yearns to.

But that could only happen in another life. Where he wasn't a threat to her family, to the man she loves like a son.

This will have to be enough.

 

  


 

They both end up taking a nap after Noah returns, the past forty-eight hours taking its toll on them. When they wake up again, Luke is on his side, Noah wrapped completely around him from behind. Judging by the light outside through the window, it’s early evening, and he smiles and stretches, feeling strangely content for the first in a very long time.

Noah shifts behind him and Luke arches his back, feeling his spine crack with a satisfying noise. Noah moves closer, and when Luke settles back down he feels how hard Noah’s cock is against his ass. His own cock responds almost immediately, hardens in the cotton of Noah’s borrowed clothes. He pushes back and Noah’s arms move from around his waist and hands grip at his hips. They both moan at the feeling, Noah rotating his hips slowly.

“Luke…”

Luke turns around, wraps a leg around Noah’s waist and brings their hips together. He doesn’t waste any time licking his way into Noah’s mouth, sucking on his tongue while grinding their cocks even closer. Doesn’t give Noah a chance to respond, swallowing his moan greedily into his mouth.

“Want you, Noah.”

Noah tears his mouth away, lips shiny and bruised from Luke’s. “Are you sure?”

Luke laughs out loud and rolls Noah right on top of him. “If you don’t fuck me right now the world will literally end. I don’t think any two people who have wanted to jump each other’s bones as much as we have in the time we’ve known each other have ever taken this long to have sex.”

Noah’s already lifting up and taking off shirt. “That’s one way to put it.”

Luke sits up to get rid of his own shirt and they’re kissing again and finally _finally_ skin to skin. Luke’s hands feel everywhere, over Noah’s broad shoulders and down his muscled back, squeezing at those narrow hips. He wraps his legs tighter around Noah’s waist, hands helping Noah’s hips as they move against his in tandem.

Their cocks are pressed up tight together, trapped in between them as they continue rocking and Luke is about ten seconds from coming. He hasn’t come in his pants just from frotting up against each other since he was fifteen. It takes some serious effort to remove his lips from Noah.

“Noah. Stop. Can’t,” Luke’s panting hard and Noah’s eyes are blown black, barely any hint of blue in them. Luke licks his lips, watches Noah’s eyes follow the movement. “Fuck me. Now. Please.”

Luke groans loud when Noah kisses him again, fierce and strong, stealing every breath in his body and Luke willingly gives it to him. Noah’s lips find his neck, tracing a path to his ear before sucking lightly, tongue teasing and teeth nipping. Luke pulls at the back of his head, arches his neck for better access. Noah sucks a bruise there that Luke’s sure he’s going to have for days before moving down his chest, tonguing each nipple at the same his fingers are wrapping around Luke’s cock through cloth.

Luke bucks up in his hand, urging Noah on with fingers in his hair. Noah nips at the skin by his navel before going lower, hands sliding his pants along with his boxers off his hips. _Finally_.

When Luke’s completely naked, Noah takes a moment to drink him in. Watching his chest which is flushed, rising and falling in time with Luke’s harsh breathing. Eyes tracing the trail of hair that leads to Luke’s cock, leaking and heavy against his stomach. The head is flushed with arousal and Noah leans down to lick at the drops of pre-come leaking from the tip. Luke lets out a cry above him.

“Nobody likes a tease, Mayer,” Luke says through gritted teeth.

“It’s only teasing when you don’t follow through with it.” Noah smirks before he swallows Luke completely down and Luke shouts, the sound torn from his throat. Because of course Noah wouldn’t have a gag reflex. _Of course_. The bastard.

Luke watches through hooded eyes as Noah works his cock, a tongue licking up the underside, swirling around the head before Noah’s lips wrap around it, tight and strong and perfect. He resists the urge to fuck Noah’s mouth like he wants to, not wanting to come that way. But Noah has other plans as he swallows around him again, the head of his cock tagging the back of Noah’s throat and then Noah hums and Luke cries out as he spills into that mouth, down that throat. Noah swallows easily, licking and easing him through his orgasm.

After a few minutes Luke hauls him up and kisses ways into Noah’s mouth and Noah groans as they share Luke’s taste. “Didn’t…want to come that way,” Luke pants out.

“Oops?”

Luke glares at him and with renewed strength flips them over until he’s on top, straddling Noah and basking in his surprised expression.

“I’ll show you _oops_.”

He takes Noah’s cock in his hand and strokes once upward, making Noah twitch. He swipes his thumb at the pearly liquid glistening at the head, lifts his fingers to his mouth, tongue darting out to taste. Noah’s eyes narrow into slits.

“Fuck.”

“That’s the idea. Supplies?”

“Bottom drawer.”

Luke rummages until he finds a condom and lube. Tossing the condom on the bed by Noah’s side, he flips the cap open on the bottle and pours the liquid on his fingers. He reaches behind himself, impatient, and pushes one finger in and moans.

“Shit, Luke. Next time I’m taking my time and doing this for you. You’re so fucking beautiful, you don’t even know,” Noah says, mostly to himself. His fingers dig into Luke’s thighs as he watches Luke open himself up.

It’s only a few more seconds before Luke is pulling his fingers out, tearing the condom wrapper open and rolling it down Noah’s dick. He coats it with lube before rising up to his knees. Noah holds his cock in one hand, the other on Luke’s hip as helps Luke lower himself down on his cock in one smooth stroke.

 _Oh fuck_.

Luke has no idea which one of them spoke, it could have been both. But Luke’s too busy concentrating on how fucking _huge_ Noah feels inside him. He opens his eyes to see Noah’s intense gaze on him, mouth open and panting, body sweating and face tight in the effort to hold back. Luke only needs another moment to adjust before he’s lifting up again and sliding back down and Noah groans from deep inside his chest.

And _fuck_ that’s good. The angle’s just right for Noah’s cock to brush against his prostate. It doesn’t take them long to settle into a rhythm and pretty soon Luke is riding him hard, Noah’s hands on his ass, squeezing and helping him bounce along. Luke’s completely hard again and he takes his own cock in his hand and starts stroking.

“God, Noah. You feel so fucking good.”

Luke bears down harder, lifting almost completely off before slamming back down, rocking against Noah’s hips, feeling Noah’s balls slap against his ass and Luke’s never been more turned on in his life. Noah’s hips meet him thrust for thrust and then his body is rising up, his tongue making its way into Luke’s mouth. Their kisses are sloppy and dirty, and they’re panting into each other’s mouths more than anything as Noah continues to fuck into Luke.

Luke’s wraps both arms around Noah’s shoulders, trying to get better leverage to fuck himself on Noah’s cock. His own is trapped between their stomachs and there’s enough friction there that Luke knows he can probably come without anything on his cock.

That thought drives him to move faster and then they’re just blur of limbs, Luke’s fingers digging bruises into Noah’s shoulders and Noah’s hands firmly on his ass, grinding them closer and closer to orgasm with enough strength that Luke knows there’ll be bruises there later too.

“Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Never wanna stop fucking you,” Luke is incoherent by now but he doesn’t care.

His second orgasm rips through his him, a scream dying on his lips as Noah swallows it into his mouth before groaning loudly, spilling inside Luke.

Luke has no idea how long they stay like that, with him still wrapped around Noah from the top, Noah’s arms the only thing keeping him from probably collapsing on his side on the bed like his tired limbs want him to. He feels fingers combing through the sweaty strands of his hair and Noah smiles at him with such affection in his eyes Luke has to kiss him again.

Noah gently untangles them, their limbs feeling like jelly. He lays Luke down carefully on the bed before going to the bathroom to retrieve a wet washcloth, cleaning them both up. Luke is pretty much useless at this point but Noah seems more than content to take care of him.

Afterward, they tangle themselves up again, faces close together, barely a breath between their bodies. “You’re amazing,” Luke whispers. “These past two days, I don’t think I would have made it through them sane without you.”

Noah kisses each tip of the fingers on Luke’s right hand, brushing his lips against the knuckles, and smiles. “Same here.”

They don’t leave the bed for the rest of the night.

 

  


 

Noah wakes slowly, the light filtering in through the curtains falling across his bed, and when he opens his eyes he can tell it's still early in the morning. He presses a grin into his pillow before reaching behind in search of Luke. There's nothing but emptiness, his fingers touch cooling sheets and that clears his head. He glances around the room, notices there's no light in the bathroom and it's enough to make his heart stutter.

Frowning slightly as he swings his legs over the side of the bed, he throws on a shirt and sweats, before walking quickly out of his bedroom. He stops when he hears noises coming from the kitchen, laughs silently at himself for being a dork. Luke wouldn't have walked out on him like that. He reaches the door, leans against frame to watch Luke putter with the coffee.

It feels right seeing him in Noah's apartment like he belongs there. Noah thinks he does.

Luke pauses for a second when Noah comes to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and leans his head on Luke's shoulder. “Good morning. Did you make enough for me too?” He kisses up the line of Luke's jaw, feels the deep sigh he gives, smiling when Luke tilts his head back, exposing his throat for Noah. “Hmm. Best kind of breakfast.” His hands start to move under the hem of Luke’s shirt and he nuzzles the side of Luke's face.

“Noah.”

His hands freeze where they are at the tone he hears in Luke's voice. It's not one he's heard before and that's important enough for him to tamp down on his want and turn Luke around. He brings a hand up to Luke's face, sweeps a thumb over the dark circles under Luke's eyes. “You okay?”

The look on his face makes Noah's heart beat harder, ache a little because he knows it. Whatever Luke has to say he doesn't think he wants to hear.

Luke shakes his head, warm brown eyes sad and resigned when he meets Noah's. “I have to tell you something.” He moves past him to the table and Noah realizes he's putting it between them like a wall. “I've been lying to you.”

His chest tightens, throbs and makes it hard to get the words out. “What are you talking about?” His hands are limp at his side and he watches Luke stare at the floor while Noah's heart starts to crack at the seams.

“I'm not a writer, Noah. I never ran my father's company. That's not what I do.”

He's so confused but he doesn't ask anything. Part of him doesn't want to know but another part is ready for whatever Luke has to say.

“I kill people, Noah.”

Except he could never have been ready for that. He takes a step back, croaks out a shocked “What?” but Luke won't meet his eyes. His gaze focuses just beyond Noah's shoulder and he clears his throat, says it again.

“I'm a hired assassin. That's what I do. I kill people for money.” He's holding himself tight, hands clenched on the back of the chair in front of him. “I came to Chicago to kill you.”

This isn't happening.

“You're lying.”

That gets Luke's attention and he looks straight at him, shakes his head, mouth curved into a frown. “I'm not, Noah. You were my next assignment.”

“Stop it.”

“It's the truth.”

“You are not a killer!”

Luke's been slumped this whole time, shoulder sagging against some force that Noah doesn't understand. But in that instance, he pulls up and meets Noah's broken stare, holds it. “I am, Noah. I've worked for an agency we just refer to as The Company since I was eighteen. The Grimaldis owe them a great deal. It's the family business, I guess you could say.” He doesn't move any closer but when his gaze turns hard, Noah feels something catch in his gut. “I couldn't tell you how many people I've killed because I lost count.”

“No.”

“I knew all about you when I got here. Or almost everything at least. I knew you'd run away from home when you were a kid. That you'd been abused by your father. That you'd watched him kill your mother when you were only four years old. The fact that you were connected to my family. That you'd lost your sight when that prop during your film exploded in your face. That the only reason you went into politics was because you can't see depth anymore so your film career was finished. I found out everything I could about you. I knew what you ate. Where you lived. Who you fucked. That you were publicly this clean, sincere politician. I knew almost everything before you told me. And a few things that you didn’t. And I was sent to get rid of you before the work you did threatened what The Company wanted.”

Noah reaches for the table, leans against it to keep from buckling under the weight of the heartbreak. It feels heavy in his body, making him numb, until he can't feel anything at all.

“Jesus.”

Luke doesn't come closer but Noah knows he’s there and it's too much. He doesn't understand why anyone would want him dead. “Why did – fuck.” He presses a hand over his heart like that's going to stop it from shattering into pieces.

“He lied to me about you. Told me that you were --”

Noah's head jerks up when Luke stops. The numbness is fading and in its place is the rage he works so hard at controlling. “Told you what?”

Luke closes his eyes as he speaks. “That you were smuggling illegal immigrants and stealing money from the campaign to fund prostitution rings.”

It's so completely ludicrous that Noah laughs harsh and mean. “And you believed them?” He sees the guilt cross Luke's face and that might hurt more than anything else. “Oh my – you did.” He covers his face with shaking hands.

Luke closes the space between them and Noah takes another step away. “ _Don't_ touch me.” He drops his hands and stares at Luke. There's some satisfaction at how broken he seems, the way he's biting his lips, his eyes wide and pained. Good. He doesn't want to be the only one.

“I knew-- when I first met you I didn't know but once I got to know you – I knew. It's why I couldn't go through with the case.”

“I'm calling the cops, Luke. I want you away from me.”

Luke nods. “I know that you do but please, Noah, don't call anyone. I can't protect you if I'm locked up.”

“ _Protect_ me?”

“If they take me off this case it won't be long before they send someone else who won't know the truth or care even if they did. They'll find you and kill you. I can't – no. I need you to be alive. Let me do this. Let me protect you.”

“I _don't_ want anything from you. Get _out._ ”

“They'll come after your family – our family – and they won't stop until they kill them. Whatever it takes to get to you, they'll do. Please, Noah.”

He can't breathe, starts to choke on the lack of air and trips over his own feet to get away from Luke’s face and hands and eyes. “You did this to them. How could you--?” It was all a lie. Everything between them had been a lie. He almost says that, screams it at Luke because it's too much to bear. That he fell for this man who could be capable of –

But he knows there’s more to this. He's seen what Luke is, his face when he met Holden, the way he looked at Faith, how he opened up to Noah. There's no way it was all part of the job. He's had plenty of opportunities, but Noah is still alive.

“Why didn't you kill me?”

Luke seems surprised at the question and he gulps before he says, “Because somewhere in my heart I knew it couldn't be true. I made a colleague research their claims and she found out they were all lies. That you were innocent.”

Noah closes his eyes. “What's going to happen now?” He hugs himself, moving as far from Luke as he can manage in the same room. “I can't just let them hurt the people I love.”

“We won't. I promise you that.”

Noah clamps down on the need to tell Luke that his promises don't mean anything anymore.

“I'm leaving.”

That makes him glance up at Luke and his already broken heart aches more.

“When they figure out I know the truth, that I've been feeding them bullshit for all this time, they'll come here to take me out of the equation. I have to make sure that doesn't happen.”

Noah can't think of a world where Luke is dead. Rationally he knows that this man was supposed to take his life but – that wasn't the Luke he knew. The one he’d been falling for. “How are you planning to do that?”

“I'm leaving. It's too dangerous to be here anymore. And I know things about them. Things they don't think anyone knows about them.”

“You're going to threaten them?”

Luke nods. “If they hurt you or anyone else I care about, I'll expose them.”

Noah tries to think clearly, knows that this plan isn't going to work. “And if they kill – kill you? What happens then?” He can barely think about that.

“You're going to be protected no matter what happens.”

“But my family...”

Luke shakes his head. “I've got them covered, too. I won't have anything happen to any of you. I won't.” He runs a hand through his messy hair, meets Noah's eyes for the first time. “Until I can come up with a permanent solution, I'll make sure you're all under someone's protection.”

“You can do that and keep yourself alive?” That's important to him and he sees something like hope flicker in Luke's eyes before he shutters his gaze.

“Don't worry about me.”

Noah holds his arms, nodding while his head churns with all this. He wants to know more. Why Luke chose this life. How Damian fit into it because Noah is sure that fucker had something to do with it. He wants to believe that Luke can make this right. That somehow they can find a way but then he remembers that Luke touched him knowing all the while what he was supposed to do to him.

“I need you to leave. Now.”

Luke stares at him, opens his mouth to say something, but whatever he sees in Noah's face changes his mind. He turns, starts walking away, stopping at the door. Without looking back, he says quietly, “You and I. We’re the one real thing here, Noah. That's been the only real thing in my life.”

Then he's gone and Noah stares at the spot where he'd been for a long time.

 

  


 

It’s been two days since he’s seen or heard from Noah. Two days that have been hard, trying to fend off the increasing questions from The Company. It’s getting more difficult trying to stall, buy himself time until he’s sure he can divert their attention away from Noah and to him. He just needs enough to get as far away as possible, makes sure the protection he’s arranged for Noah and the Snyders will be enough until Luke can come up with a more concrete plan.

And he _will_ come up with one. He’s not going to let Noah get hurt. Not going to let any of them get hurt. He’ll go in there guns blazing if he has to, fight them with fists himself or die trying.

He tries really hard not to think about the latter option.

He also tries not to think about never seeing Noah again. But Luke had been prepared for that. Knew there was no other conclusion to their story besides this one, with Luke gone and Noah not wanting anything to do with him. He stuffs another wrinkled shirt into a bag, ignoring the way his heart breaks in his chest.

There’s a knock on the door and Luke is prepared to bitch someone out because it’s two a.m. and what the hell could any of the hotel staff want with him now? He opens the door, mouth open in a curse before abruptly shutting it, eyes going wide.

“So here’s the deal. I’m coming with you and you’re going to let me.”

Luke picks up his mouth from the floor where it had dropped again at Noah’s abrupt appearance. “Excuse me?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“You act like I’m giving you a choice in the matter. And before you ask me, yes, I already thought about this. Thought about every possible scenario and every possible reason why this is _not_ a good idea. Haven’t thought about anything else in the past two days.”

Luke sighs. “If you’ve thought about it then how could you have possibly come up with this decision? Seriously.”

“Because you said they’re going to send another agent after me anyway, right? So as long as I’m here, it’s not safe for my family. At all.”

“But I told you I could protect you. I’ve already have things set up with people.”

“That’s not good enough, I won’t risk it. I don’t want them anywhere near my family. I still want the protection for them but with me out of the picture, The Company doesn’t have any reason to go after them.”

“Noah,” Luke can feel an enormous headache coming on. “Do you have any idea what you’re agreeing to if you come with me?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really? You know that you have to literally disappear, give up your job, your life, the Snyders, _everything_ to go into hiding. And there’s not even a guarantee that we’ll survive this.”

Noah swallows hard and there’s a flicker of reluctance in his face, like maybe he’s changing his mind. _Good_ , Luke thinks, _because if I have to gag you and tie you to the El tracks to keep you here, I will_.

But the flicker is gone as soon as he it comes and a fierce determination settles in its place and Luke knows he’s in trouble.

“If it means that my family is going to be safe, then I’m doing this. And you can’t change my mind. I’m as stubborn as you are, so don’t even try it.”

Luke can’t help but feel a little amused by that but he continues to stare at Noah warily. “Shit, Noah. I don’t know if I can let you do this. I don’t think I can ever live with myself if something happened to you.”

“If I stay here and somehow one of those agents gets past the protection detail you have on us, then I’m dead anyway.”

“Don’t say stuff like that.”

Noah shrugs. “It’s true and you know it. So stop arguing with me. You’ll lose, I’ve been in politics longer than you have, remember? I’ll argue in circles with you if I have to.”

Luke has to admire the determination and the way Noah’s eyes fire up like he’s daring him to argue. It’s intriguing as all hell, and _fuck_ does it ever turn him on.

Luke clears his throat and turns around to continue packing.  
“Fine but we’re leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow, and if you need to bring anything with you, go get it now, because you’re not going to be seeing Chicago for a very long time.”

He can hear Noah still behind him and can feel the heat of his gaze on the back of his neck, and Luke fights not to turn around. He can’t decide if he wants to throw himself on Noah, or to shake some sense into him, or just fuck him through the floor. None of the scenarios end well in his head. He hears footsteps heading towards the door and only when Noah is gone does Luke let himself breathe again.

When Noah returns later, duffel slung over his shoulder, Luke is mostly done packing. He takes a quick sweep of the bathroom to make sure he hasn’t left anything there before meeting Noah in the middle of suite.

“Did you let anyone know what you were leaving?”

Noah places his duffel by the end and runs a hand through his hair. “I left Casey a message. Tried to explain as much as I can about what was going on without really explaining. He’s going to hate me so much.”

Luke snorts. “I’m sure whatever he’s going to feel for you won’t even come close to the burning and loathing hatred he’ll feel for me when he finds out I had something do with this.” He pauses and swallows. “Which, speaking of, we’re going to be spending a lot of time with each other. Probably in several places where we’ll be forced to be in closed quarters. So. Warning you now, if you want out, since I’m the last person you want to be spending that much time with indefinitely.”

Luke says all of this in a rush, almost in one breath. There’s complete silence for the longest time and Luke has never felt more awkward in his life. Standing there with Noah staring at him, not saying anything. Until Noah starts laughing. And Luke thinks it’s happened, they’ve finally gone crazy.

“Uh. That’s not exactly the response I was been expecting.”

Noah is still chuckling albeit a little deprecatingly. “There’s absolutely nothing in this entire situation that I expected. Ever.”

Luke is at a loss on what to say, but Noah starts speaking for the both of them.

“I never expected to like you so much as soon as I met you. Never expected you to be the long-lost son of the only family I’ve known, never expected to ask you to come work for me, never expected to find out that you were actually sent to fucking kill me.”

Luke’s pretty sure his heart is somewhere at his feet as Noah continues but he’s rooted to the spot and can’t seem to make himself stop Noah’s ranting.

“And despite everything, I never expected to still care about you, still want to be with you, still want to fuck you every time I lay my eyes on you until we both die from it.”

He’s not breathing as Noah comes closer, puts a hand on his face. Noah’s eyes are bright, a little manic as he looks at Luke with an expression on his face akin to wonder.

“I’ve wanted you since I first saw your stupid face admiring my favorite painting back at the benefit.”

Luke lets out a startled laugh.

“I’m going crazy, aren’t I?” Noah murmurs, breath fanning across Luke’s lips, where his gaze is fixed. “That’s the only explanation I can think of.”

“Then we’re both crazy,” is the last thing Luke says before he’s crashing their mouths together.

Clothes come off very quickly after that and then they’re naked on Luke’s bed, writhing and moaning. Luke’s legs are wrapped around Noah’s waist, his heels crossed together and digging into the small of Noah’s back. Noah’s tongue is in his mouth when he pushes his cock inside Luke and Luke groans into it, loving the burn and stretch and the _feel_ of Noah’s cock pulling him apart. Noah stills and Luke opens his eyes.

“You were just going to leave me. I wasn’t going to let that happen.”

“Noah…”

“Nothing’s going to happen to you either. I won’t let it.” The tone holds such conviction, such promise that Luke can’t do anything but nod, eyes wide and glassy. And then Noah starts to move.

Later, when they’re wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets and Noah is asleep, Luke lets himself watch the slow rise and fall of his chest, placing a soft kiss on his shoulder, murmurs a confession there. “I was going to find a way back to you.”

He buries his face against Noah’s neck and lets the Noah’s steady breathing lull him into sleep.

 

  


 

There’s a strange buzzing noise by Luke’s ear and he tries to slap it away but ends up smacking the side of his face instead.

“Ow. What the fuck?”

He feels Noah stir behind him and Luke peels his eyelids open and realizes it’s his phone, vibrating and glowing on the side table.

Luke bolts up right away and tries to blink away sleep. He sees that it’s barely six in the morning and only one person has this number. He feels Noah slowly wake up beside him before grabbing his phone and answering it.

“NCC-170— ”

“Luke!” Zoe cuts him off, not bothering with formality. “You gotta get out there. Now!” Zoe’s voice is a harsh and rushed whisper like she’s trying not to be overheard. “They know, Luke, that you’ve been lying. They’re coming. They left about an hour ago, I only found out now and by accident. Please tell me you’re already out the door.” There’s panic in her voice now and Luke shoves his legs into his jeans.

“They’re also going after Mayer. I have no idea how you’re going to—”

“It’s okay. Noah’s already here with me.”

“Good. Now get the hell out of there.”

“Zoe, are you going to be--”

“I’ll be fine!” Zoe snaps. “Leave. Now.” And then the line goes dead.

Luke turns to see Noah already dressed and barely conceals his surprise.

“I figured there’s only one reason you’re moving this fast and that’s because something really bad is about to happen,” Noah offers as an explanation.

“We have to go now. The Company knows I’ve been misleading them and they’re on their way. Grab anything that you only _absolutely_ need.”

He leaves Noah and walks over to a table filled with plants that’s located against a wall on the other side of the suite, in front of a large mirror. Luke feels around underneath it before coming into contact with cool metal. He extracts the gun that he’s been keeping there and walks back to the main living room where Noah is placing his wallet and phone in his pockets.

Noah’s eyes widen slightly at the sight of the gun and Luke shoves it in the back of his jeans. After some thought Luke walks over to one of his bags and unzips one of the inner pockets, taking out something that Noah doesn’t see and shoving that inside his pants too. But not in any of his pockets, Noah notices, but actually inside his pants, his hand going in until it looks like it stops mid-thigh and then Luke pulls his fingers out, hand empty.

“What the hell was that?”

“No time to explain but I never leave anywhere without it really. Now let’s go.”

As they head towards the door, there’s a soft and small knock. Both Luke and Noah freeze. Luke takes his gun out slowly, clicks the safety off, and motions Noah to be quiet and to get behind him. Noah starts to protest but the look Luke gives him shuts him up and he does as Luke tells him.

Once they’re near the door, Luke takes a cautious glance at the peephole on the door and he startles a little. “It’s _Reg_ ,” he whispers to Noah.

“What?!”

Luke puts the gun back in his jeans and opens the door slowly. When Noah really sees it is actually Reg, he grabs him by the arm and drags him in before shutting the door again.

“What the hell are you doing here? How did you get out?” he hisses.

“I made bail and I need to talk to you.”

“How did you even know I was here?”

“You weren’t at your apartment or at the office so this was the next logical choice.”

“Addington, we really don’t have time for this right now.” Luke tries to shove past him toward the door. “If you really need to talk to Noah then I suggest you do it while we’re getting the hell out of here.”

But Reg doesn’t move and steps towards Noah with pleading eyes. “I just wanted to apologize one more time, Noah. I never meant to betray your trust or smear the campaign. I was really backed into a corner.”

Luke is giving Noah panic looks over Reg’s shoulder. And Noah grabs Reg’s arm again. “It’s okay, Reg. I forgive you, okay? Now let’s go.”

“You do? Oh thank god. Because I really need you to talk to Tony for me. He won’t answer any of my calls. And I tried to go his sister’s but she won’t let me in. He refuses to want to do anything with me right now and I need you to let him know sorry I am. Please.”

Noah opens his mouth to reply but Luke cuts him off.

“Oh for _fuck’s sake_.” He grabs Reg by the back of his shirt and starts dragging towards the door. “We are _all_ leaving _now_.” And Luke pulls the door open only to reveal three men and Luke recognizes them immediately, The Company singlet visible on the cuffs of their jackets.

 

  


 

The three men walk inside and shut the door quietly. Luke identifies them as some of his father’s best men: Agents Montgomery, Rhett, and Scotty.

He backs away slowly, taking Reg with him, his right hand reaching behind his back. Rhett jerks his head slightly and Montgomery and Scotty move towards them, Montgomery grabbing Reg away from Luke while Scotty reaches behind Luke’s back and takes his gun, disarming him. Rhett is pointing another gun steadily in their direction the entire time.

 _Fuck_. He chances a glance at Noah and his eyes are on Reg, fear in them.

“Get rid of him,” Rhett mutters. “He’s not important in this.”

“Wait, what? What’s going on, Noah? Who are these guys?” Reg’s voice is getting higher and higher as he panics.

“No!” Noah calls out, “Just let him go, please. He’s got nothing to do with this.”

Rhett raises an eyebrow at him but his expression is one of boredom. “Exactly.”

Noah starts to argue again but Luke is focused on Scotty because he’d just seen the opening he’d been looking for. While all three agents are focused on Noah and Reg, Luke makes his move, reaching for the holster revealed by Scotty’s open jacket and grabs the gun in it, twisting Scotty’s arm behind his back, forcing him in front of Luke’s body as a shield.

Montgomery and Rhett’s guns are aimed on the both of them immediately but they don’t fire. Luke had been counting on this. There’s a very important rule that The Company teaches all its agents right from the beginning: _Don’t get caught_. You do whatever you had to do to make sure you didn’t and that includes leaving agents behind.

But Luke knows that Rhett and Scotty are friends. Seen them enough around headquarters together to notice.

Luke points his gun over Scotty’s shoulder. “Lower your weapons and slide them over here or I’ll kill him. Now.”

He sees Montgomery look to Rhett for instructions and Rhett hesitates but doesn’t lower his gun. Luke’s hand tightens around the arm in his grip as he twists higher and Scotty cries out in pain.

“I said _now_ ,” Luke repeats, his fingers steady on the trigger of the gun on his other hand.

Luke sees the moment Rhett makes his decision and lowers his weapon. But then there’s sudden movement in his peripheral vision and several things happen at once.

Reg makes a run for the door and Noah makes a grab for him but fails. There’s a sudden flare of a shot but no noise, the silencers being on, and Luke feels the air knocked out of him as Scotty takes advantage of his momentary distraction to aim an elbow hard into his gut. Luke tries not to double over in pain, trying to keep his hold on the gun and Scotty’s arm, but Scotty’s too fast and knocks the gun out of his hand.

Luke looks up in time to catch Reg fall to the ground, hear Noah’s shout of _NO!_ before Scotty’s fist is in his face and everything goes black.

 

  


 

The first thing that Luke notices when he comes to is that he’s blindfolded. The second is that they’re moving, the low rumble of tires over gravel reaching his ears. The third is that his arms are handcuffed behind his back. He moves cautiously in the seat he’s in as much as he can with his restrictions and hears a sharp intake of breath.

“Luke? You awake?”

“Noah. Thank god. You’re okay.”

“Yeah.”

Noah’s voice is tight and painful, barely audible and it sets Luke on edge. “Are you sure you’re ok--”

“Reg is dead,” Noah interrupts him. “They killed him.”

 _God_. Luke had been hanging on to a sliver of hope that Reg had survived the bullet that hit him. “I’m so so sorry, Noah.”

“Yeah,” Noah says again.

Luke doesn’t know what else to say. But Noah is speaking again.

“Are _you_ okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine, just a black eye probably. I can already feel it throbbing. Do you know where we’re going?”

“No, they blindfolded me too as soon as I got in the van.”

“Where are they anyway?”

“All up in the front.”

Luke scoots closer to Noah in the backseat, needs solid confirmation that Noah’s there. When Noah feels him, he leans in, their heads knocking slightly together.

“How did they sneak us out of the hotel like this?”

He can’t see Noah but he just knows that Noah’s making a face right now. “They created some kind of diversion, made me distract the front desk. They rewired some of the security feeds at the hotel, I guess.” There’s a heavy pause before Noah continues. “Luke. I heard one of them say to another to care of Reg’s body. Make sure the right people see it. What does that mean?”

Luke swallows thickly, not exactly sure but he can take a guess. “I’m not sure but I’m going to assume that they want to make sure Reg’s body is found. Want it in the news.”

He feels Noah tense beside him. “So they can blackball Grayson’s image even more.”

“Yeah, because then all the records of Reg stealing funds from the campaign will go public.”

“And Grayson will be known as man who hired gamblers and liars to be part of his campaign. Fuck, this is all my fault.”

“No!” Luke’s voice is even loud to his own ears and Noah startles next to him. “I told you, stop blaming yourself. If you keep doing that, then I’ll do the same thing about me. And god knows how much self-loathing from twenty-two some years I’ve carrying. Is that what you want to do? Play the blame game?”

Noah sighs. “No. Okay, I get it.”

Luke tries to mold himself against Noah’s side, the cuffs digging into his wrists, his shoulders starting to become real sore. “I’m sorry about Reg, Noah. I really am.”

“I know,” Noah says and brushes a kiss to his temple.

Luke leans into it, his thoughts flying in every direction, trying to figure out a way to get them out of this.

 

  


 

Noah feels the van come to a stop, hears the doors being slid open before they’re ushered out. He only stumbles a little with the blindfold as he strains his ears for any sign that will clue him in as to where they are. There’s another sound of a something being opened, like a garage door, Noah realizes, and then they’re pushed inside and the blindfolds come off. Noah blinks but it’s dim inside, the rest of the light provided only by two rusted-looking windows by the high ceilings, stacks of boxes underneath them.

They’re in an abandoned warehouse. And there’s a tall man a few feet away from them. He’s got dirty blond hair and he looks kind of familiar to Noah.

“Father,” Luke says beside him and Noah’s eyes widen.

“Luciano.” Damian nods his head towards the agents behind them and they’re immediately forced down onto the two chairs in the middle of the room, each facing the other. Rope is wrapped around his torso and feet as they’re tied further around the chair. Noah winces at how the position pulls at the muscles in his shoulders and arms, still handcuffed behind his back.

“Leave us,” Damian says after they’re secured and the agents leave the room, locking the door and standing guard outside. Damian walks towards Luke and stares down at him.

“Hi, Dad. Come to kill me?” Luke’s tone is sarcastic, his face twisted into a sneer, the bruise on his face making his expression harder.

Damian sighs. “No, son. I just want to simply know why you lied to me.”

“Oh that’s easy,” Luke replies in the same sarcastic tone. “It’s because you’ve been lying to me my entire goddamn life.”

Damian’s eyes narrow. “You are _my_ son. And I did it for your own good.”

“Funny how ‘for my own good’ ends up with me being completely unhappy and in dangerous situations where I could _die_ at anytime every day of my life for the past two decades.”

“You will not speak to me that way,” Damian snaps at him. “I do not expect you to understand my motivations but everything that I have done has always been in your best interests because you are my son and I love you.”

Luke snorts at that. “Fine. You got me here, I’m not going anywhere. Let Noah go.”

Damian raises a surprised eyebrow and turns to look at Noah, like he just remembered that he was there too.

Noah stares evenly back at him. “I have some questions first.”

“Noah,” Luke says through gritted teeth.

“I want to know why there was a hit out on me.”

Damian regards him coolly. “Because The Company felt that you were threatening some of the things they were trying to accomplish.”

Noah had heard that much from Luke but he wanted more specifics. “But why me? I’m not even anything yet. Not a Mayor, or a Senator, I haven’t run for anything.”

“But you will.”

“Yes,” Noah’s answer is firm and resolute.

Damian seems to be contemplating him. “You’re a powerful man, Mr. Mayer. And you don’t know it yet. The Company wanted to dispose of you before you could get there. And you were a quite important to Grayson. With you gone, his entire campaign platform will collapse. I believe you may call it ‘taking out the most significant player on the team and then watch the entire team fall apart.’”

Noah grits his teeth in anger and glares at Damian with everything in him. “How about Reg then? What was he to you?”

“Mr. Addington was an unfortunate accident.”

Noah’s shoulder slump. “How do you live with yourself?”

Damian walks over to him. “I’m only telling you all of this because it won’t matter later. You will be dead before tomorrow.”

“No!” Luke shouts. “Dad. If you love me the way you say you do, let Noah go. I’ll do whatever The Company wants. Please.”

Damian shakes his head and looks at him sadly. “I cannot do that, Luciano. I had hoped that by bringing you here I could change your mind about the job you were set to do. Did you know that The Company wanted you killed as well? You’ve gone too far this time, son. But I had persuaded them to let me take you here instead, talk some sense into you.”

Luke stares up at him with hard eyes. “You were never going to let me go, were you?”

“No. A father never does.”

“You’re no father of mine.”

Something flits through Damian’s face and his mouth thins. “Lucky for you, The Company has allowed me to take you somewhere, re-teach you the things you were taught as you were growing up that you have seemed to have forgotten. Rehabilitate you.”

“I’d rather die,” Luke snarls.

Damian puts a hand on his head in what Noah thinks is probably a fatherly gesture and Luke wrenches his entire body away from it. Damian sighs and walks towards the exit.

“I’ll be back tonight. You two should take this time to say your goodbyes.” And then he’s gone.

“Bastard, fucking bastard. I can’t believe we share the same blood.”

“I can relate.”

Luke’s expression softens as he turns to Noah. “Don’t worry, Noah, I’m getting us out of here.”

Noah can only stare at him. “Okay. Do possess the ability to suddenly teleport?”

Luke actually gives him a small smile. “I don’t know, we’ll see?” His voice is teasing and he starts twisting around.

“What are you doing?”

“Shhh, have to concentrate.”

Noah watches as Luke twists and turns around the rope that binds his body, fighting a little at the handcuffs linking his arms behind his back. After awhile though, he actually manages to twist loose enough so he can lift his right leg up a little and both his hands (still cuffed) are semi-twisted around towards his front. He lifts his leg higher and strains his arms forward, wincing at the extreme discomfort in his back and shoulders, but he gets his fingers into the waistband of his jeans.

“How the hell are you doing that? Can a human being even twist that way?”

“Yoga,” is Luke’s only answer.

Noah stares at him with an incredulous expression.

“What? It’s the trut – aha!”

Noah squints at the object in Luke’s hand. It looks like jello.

“Is that jello?”

Luke laughs. “No, but it looks like it doesn’t it? I just like to call it goo.

“Goo? Are you serious?”

“Yeah, Zoe invented it. She’s a genius.”

“Okaaay.”

“It can store stuff. See?”

Luke tries to twist further to show Noah what’s being held inside it.

“It looks like a needle.”

“Close. It’s my lock pick. The amazing thing about this stuff? It sticks and molds into your skin, kind of like play-doh but not. And I always take it with me. When your enemies are searching for weapons, they don’t normally search in your underwear.”

Luke starts to pick apart the goo with one hand until he can fetch the lock pick out and then there’s nothing but silence as he works, the only sound is the quiet clinking of metal as Luke works at the lock and then a click and Luke’s triumphant _woop_.

He slowly brings his arms around, rotating his shoulders for circulation. And then he’s untying the knots on the ropes and before long he’s front of Noah, working on his restraints.

Once they’re free Noah pulls Luke in a deep kiss, tongue shoving its way into Luke’s mouth and he doesn’t care that it’s not the time at all for them to be doing this. Luke kisses him back with fervor, actually trying to climb him before Noah pulls back.

“Zoe is a fucking genius.”

Luke grins at him. “I taught her everything she knows. Come on.”

Noah rolls his eyes but follows Luke in the direction he’s going. “How are we going to get out of here?”

“See those windows?” Luke nods towards the direction of the two windows Noah had seen earlier. “We’re going to climb our asses out of here. And quick because it’s going to take them about two more minutes before they realize that we’re gone.”

They run towards the other side of the warehouse and hoist themselves up on top of the boxes.

“You first,” Luke gestures to him.

“Why?”

“Because you’re taller and you can reach it better and pull me up and don’t argue, Mayer, we don’t have time.”

He’s right and Noah hauls himself up, using the stack of boxes as leverage, goes on his tip toes to open the window wide enough so a grown man can fit, then he reaches up and climbs right through it. Turning around, he lowers his body to the ground and reaches back for Luke.

“Secure all perimeters. They’ve escaped!”

“ _Shit,_ ” Luke says and he’s climbing up, one hand in Noah’s grasp before reaching for the other.

“Over here!”

Noah barely remembers what happens next. He hears the gunshot, sees Luke’s eyes widen underneath him, feels Luke’s grip falter. But Noah is moving faster than he’s ever had in his life, hauling Luke up with all his strength until he’s through the window. Luke lands on top of him and Noah reaches for him, feels the wet spot on Luke’s side. He already knows what it is before he brings his hand back to his face, stained red with blood.

 

  


 

They manage to make it out of the warehouse without running into any more of The Company's agents. Luke can barely walk. The gunshot wound in his side keeps bleeding even after Noah binds it with his shirt. He half-carries Luke as they weave in between abandoned factories, their decrepit skeletons looming over them. Noah is grateful for their shadows, drags Luke into the dark corners whenever he thinks there are footsteps running behind them. He needs to find them a place to rest, somewhere Noah can take a moment to think and find a way out of this. It might not be the smartest option but he ducks into the nearest buildings, heads for the nearest hidden corner.

Luke is pale, sweating profusely , and Noah's stomach twists with worry whenever his gaze falls to him. He needs to get Luke somewhere safe, figure out a way to treat his wounds without putting him in danger. He touches Luke's head, gives him a soft smile when he leans into Noah's hand. “Hey.”

He doesn't expect a response but Luke brings his eyes up to meet Noah's, swallowing hard. “Hey yourself.”

“I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?” Noah whispers, threading fingers through Luke's sweaty hair, pushing it back from Luke's face.

Luke shakes his head. “They're everywhere, Noah. They'll find us.” He winces, leaning his head to rest on Noah arm.

Noah presses his lips against Luke's temple. “Have a little faith.” He sets Luke down on one of the crates, glancing around for anything they could use to cover him up. “We need to keep you warm.” He scans the room for a blanket or jacket, something they could use , but there's nothing useful. He makes a decision fast. He bends at his knees to meet Luke's eyes, palming his cheek, stroking his thumb over the hot skin. “I'm going to see if I can get us out of here, okay?” Luke starts to protest but Noah shakes his head. “Sit still. I'll be back. I promise.” He drops a quick kiss on Luke's dry, chapped lips and the slides his way along the wall.

There's always more than one exit.

He can hear the far off cry of someone yelling, the sounds too muffled for Noah to make out what is being said but he's sure it can't be good for them. They've started searching the area , and if he can't find them a way out, it's all over. The thought gives him a rush of adrenaline and he moves faster. It's a never-ending maze of metal crates and machinery, dusty and rusted. He starts to panic when he can't seem to see anything but darkness ahead of him.

Noah stops in his tracks.

There's fresh air coming from somewhere nearby. He takes smaller steps, follows the wall until he finds a door. He sends a prayer up to whoever might be listening and pushes it open. It creaks loudly and he cringes as he slips halfway out. There's a parking lot, nearly empty except for the blue truck parked haphazardly near the exit. He stares at it for thirty seconds, wonders how long it ’s been there, if it still works.

He doesn't think too hard on it, turning back into the warehouse, retracing his steps until he finds Luke in the same spot he left him. When he hears the scuffle of Noah's shoes, Luke's head jerks up, blinks when Noah appears, bright but pained smile on his face.

“You're okay.”

Noah rolls his eyes, grabbing Luke's hand to lift Luke up. “You're the one with the gunshot wound and it's me you're worried about?” He takes most of Luke's weight, holds him firmly by the waist, struggles with their combined weight as he leads them back toward their possible freedom.

“Where-where are we going?”

“Out of here.” Noah pants, stops to readjust his hold on Luke, meeting his fevered glare. “How long do you think we have?”

Luke closes his eyes, swallows before answering. “Not long. They'll – they'll have called for back-up.”

“That's what I thought.”

It takes twice as long to get back to the exit and he struggles to keep himself and Luke upright. When they reach the door, he pushes them out into the cold night. Luke forces his head up to look around. Seeing the truck seems to give him extra strength , which Noah appreciates. The climb down and the walk across the parking lot are easier than he expects.

The truck is open , which makes Noah hesitate. That's too much luck for them. He'd expected to have to break a window.

Luke leans against the hood to hold himself up. “Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.” He's holding his other hand to his side and Noah can see the red bleeding through his fingers.

“Get in the truck.”

Luke drags himself around to the passenger side, groans and curses as he lifts up into front seat. Noah kneels next to the open driver's door, reaches under the seat and feels around for wires. It's an old truck, probably made before there was any real anti-theft – He makes a victorious sound when he finds what he's looking for, works at it for a few minutes. The wires spark, burning his fingers , making him hiss. The engine turns and turns over until finally it stays on.

Noah jumps into the seat, belts in and turns to tell Luke to do buckle in. He stops at the look Luke is giving him. “What?”

“I just – really? You can hot wire a car?” His voice is rough, words quick and pained but his mouth twitches.

Noah shrugs. “I wasn't always a pillar of the community.”

Luke coughs out a laugh and Noah reaches over, strokes his hand over Luke's forehead. “Strap in, please.” He watches Luke fumble with the seat belt, shifts the truck into gear when he clicks it in place, turns his attention to finding the gate out. It takes him a few minutes to find it and he rolls the truck out quietly out as he can. There's a commotion behind them and he glances in the rearview mirror. Glass and steel and fire rain up, the explosion shaking through the ground.

He glances over at Luke, who’s barely able to keep his eyes open. “Just hang in there, okay?”

“Where are we going?” Luke mumbles.

Noah reads the gas meter. Half a tank. It might be enough to get Luke to safety.

“Somewhere they won't look for us.”

 

  


 

He can't keep his eyes open no matter how hard he tries. The pain radiates from his side, down his legs, spreads like fire across his skin. Luke wants to sleep but he knows better. He keeps himself awake by watching Noah drive. He can see how scared he is in the line of tension across his shoulders. He wants to reach out, touch him, comfort him , but his hands are too heavy.

Their eyes meet periodically when Noah takes his off the road to look toward Luke. He asks Luke random questions about nothing in particular whenever he starts to drift.

He has no idea how much time passes. An hour, ten, a day. All he's aware of is the motion of the car and Noah's voice talking in waves over him. It sinks into his skin, warms him through the chill. He shivers, feels the urge to pass out become stronger.

And then they stop.

Noah pulls out of his seat, wraps an arm around his waist and helps walk to a door of a cabin he doesn't recognize.

“It's the Snyder cabin.” Noah says by way of explanation when Luke tries to motion at the building. He doesn't ask anything else. The inside is rustic, old fashioned but there's a working fireplace and a huge bed in one corner of the huge open room. Noah helps him lie down, removes his shoes and shirt. Gentle hands explore his wound. He cries out when the pain flares, black spots appearing in his vision.

“I need to get you help.”

Luke shakes his head. “It too – dangerous. They- might find- you.”

Noah scowls, glares at him even as he touches his face, strokes at his cheek. “I don't care. You're hurt. Bleeding all over these sheets and I can't – if something happens to you, I can't take that.”

His chest aches with what that means, wants to be able to make Noah happy, wants him healthy and safe. His hand trembles when it reaches for Noah's face, traces a line across his lips. “I feel the same way.” Noah leans into his touch and he wants to kiss him so badly it makes him dizzy. “Don't worry so much, baby.”

Noah's eyes widen, his smile soft as he brushes a kiss on Luke's mouth. “Yeah. Not gonna happen.” He noses down the line of Luke's cheek. “I know what I need to do.”

Before he can ask what that means, Noah's on the other side of the room, phone in his hand. Luke tries to tell him to stop but the exhaustion hits him like bricks and he's closing his eyes before the words are even formed.

 

  


 

Someone is shaking him awake, the voice slightly familiar , and when he opens his eyes, there's Reid Oliver leaning over him.

“Don't close your eyes.”

The command is clipped and cold, makes Luke want to punch his smug face in. He really hates the guy.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” The question comes out a whisper, scratchy and halting, makes him cringe.

Noah's face appears over Reid shoulder, looking distressed and unhappy. “I called him. We can trust him.”

Luke has enough energy to snort. “Yeah.” He eyes Reid suspiciously. “What’s the deal, Oliver?”

He sees Reid roll his eyes heavenward, turning to exchange a look Luke can't read with Noah. Jealously flares hot in him and he wants to touch Noah, mark him so that Reid understands that Noah is _his_.

“Listen to me. I'm here because of Noah. He asked me to do him a favor and he never asks for anything from me. My friend needed me. I came here. Believe me when I say I'd rather let you bleed to death if I could help it.” Reid's tone is calm, threatening , and it makes Luke's own temper rise.

“Nice way to follow the Hippocratic oath there.”

“Don't push me. After what you were going to do to Noah...”

“ _Enough!_ ” Noah's voice breaks through them and Luke focuses on his face. There are lines of worry and sorrow running across his brow. He glares at Reid then turns it toward Luke. “I seriously could not care less what you feel about each other.” He points to Luke. “I need you to be quiet and let him help you,” the finger switches to Reid, “and I need you to fix him. That's all I want right now.” He can't miss the tremor he hears in Noah's voice.

“Baby, I'm --”

“No.” Noah snaps, red-rimmed eyes meeting Luke's. “You're _not_. And I need you to be. So just. Please. Let him do what he has to.”

Luke sighs, holds Noah's gaze for several moments before reluctantly flicking it over to Reid. “If you're going to do something, get to it.”

Reid starts cleaning the wound, movements rougher than necessary, and Luke almost pulls away because it hurts like a motherfucker but he doesn't give him the satisfaction.

It's worth it, though, when he meets Noah's relieved gaze, sees him smile at him.

He could deal with a lot more for that.

 

  


 

He falls in and out of sleep.

The next time he's awake for more than a few minutes he hears raised voices. His heart starts beating against his chest.

_Noah ._

Someone might be hurting Noah.

But then the voices become clearer and he realizes it's Noah yelling and the other voice is Reid.

“You can't be serious. He was going to hurt you.”

“But he didn't! He believed in me even when everyone he knows was lying to him. He saved me!”

“Oh, yeah. You're _completely_ out of danger now. It's not like some crazy people are trying to kill you. What the hell am I worrying about?”

“We're going to figure this out.”

“You cannot be this naïve. I know you aren't.”

“I'm well aware of what's going on.”

“And you're willing to risk your life for this guy?”

“Yes.”

“Why the hell would you do that?”

“Because I love him.”

Luke's breath catches in his throat and he waits to hear what comes next. The silence stretches until his skin is tingling with anxiety. He doesn't care what Reid thinks but he knows Noah might.

“Well. Fuck.”

Noah sputters out a hysterical laugh. “Tell me about it.”

He can't disagree with them.

 

  


 

Reid stays until Luke's fever breaks. He hands Noah a bottle and tells him to make sure Luke takes those until they're finished. “It'll fight off an infection.” He picks up his bag, gives Luke one last glare of death before pulling Noah into a hug. “You take care of yourself. Call me if you need anything else.”

Noah grips onto his shoulders and Luke makes himself look elsewhere, his hands clenched on the blankets. He hears the door open and close then Noah is at his side, threading his hand over Luke's head.

“You feel better?”

Luke nods. “As good as I can when we're sitting here waiting to be found.”

Noah frowns, hands falling to Luke's and he laces them together, runs his thumb over Luke's knuckles. “I know this wasn't the best plan--”

Luke presses his mouth over Noah's, tastes the exhaustion and need in his kiss. He wants to stay there forever. He'll do whatever he needs to make sure that happens. He licks into Noah's mouth, sighs when Noah spreads one hand on his back, pushes himself closer.

There's a twinge at his side, makes him pull back and wince.

Noah's face reads worry and fear. He shakes his head. “It's fine.”

“I hate those words. Really.”

Luke smiles and nods. “I get that.” He gives Noah one more kiss, lingering across his lips before he allows himself to pull away. “We need to get out of here.”

Noah gives him a look. “No shit. What's the plan?”

He's been thinking about it for the last few hours and there's a plan forming in his head. “I have a boat.”

Noah raises an eyebrow. “What? Where?”

“It's moored in Chicago. I was going to use it to – leave after – you know. I wasn't going back to them.”

“And they don't know.”

Luke shakes his head. “Not The Company, no. My cousin and a friend of mine do but I can trust them. They can help us with this.” He reaches for the cell on the night stand. “Give me a couple of hours. Then, I'm going to need you to call in a favor or two.”

Noah squeezes the hand he's still holding, nodding. “Okay.”

They're going to make it. No matter what.

 

  


 

“Are you sure about this?”

They’re sitting in a row at the large mahogany table, all eyes boring into her, and even across the room she can feel their hostility. She's never been here before, wonders how Luke managed to get out of there alive.

Zoe nods her head, meets Damian's eyes as she answers Agent Johnson. “He contacted me directly, sir. The plan is to get out of town on a rented boat and then find some hideaway.” From the corner of her eye she can make out someone but she refuses to be intimidated.

Agent Johnson smirks, cold and deadly, making the hair on the back of her neck stand out. “Does Luciano really believe we won't find him?” He tsks as he stands up, walking the length of the room, stopping in front of her. He stares at her until she meets his eyes. “You were trained better than that.”

“I very much doubt Luciano hasn't played out all the possible scenarios. He's never been sloppy.” Zoe keeps her gaze locked with his. “I would never underestimate him.”

“We don't.” He touches her shoulder, presses down and Zoe schools her face to hide the pain it causes. Never show any weakness. “Which is why we have you.”

Zoe swallows hard, eyes finding Damian's again and nods. “My loyalty is to The Company.”

“It's what I like to hear. Now tell me what you plan to do about your rogue cousin.”

He waits for her answer, leans into her space until it's hard to breathe but she forces herself not to back away, smiles hard.

“Take care of them both.”

 

  


 

Casey glances over his shoulder, adjusting the bag he's carrying so the strap stops digging into his skin, then checks his watch again. Noah is late, which isn't like him, but then asking Casey to meet him in some alleyway isn't like him either.

“Case.”

He jumps at the sound of Noah's voice. “What's going on? Why the _hell_ did you ask me to meet you here?” He takes a quick look behind Noah to the car that idles just at the entrance of the alley. He brings his gaze back his friend. “First you leave me a message babbling about having to leave town and that you'd explain later. Then I get a call from Tony telling me Reg was killed. And now this. I'm freaking out here, man.”

“I know.”

“Is this about what happened with Reg? The cops are saying you had something to do with it.”

Noah shakes his head. “I didn't.”

“No shit, Noah. I know you wouldn't have hurt him no matter what went down with you guys. But this is about that, right? About the people who hurt him?”

The silence is answer enough and he takes a step closer, grabs Noah's arms. “Tell me something, Noah. How involved are you and Luke in this?”

“I can't tell you what's going on.”

He opens his mouth to protest but Noah shakes his head.

“I can't. I don't want you to get hurt. I need to protect you. Everyone I love. ”

“Oh, _that_ fucking reassures me.”

“Listen to me, okay? Luke and I – we need to leave. There's a lot I can't tell you right now. It's complicated and dangerous. I promise that you'll find out the truth eventually but right now we have to leave. Can you trust me enough to do a favor for me?”

Casey takes a deep breath, closes his eyes. “Of course I do.” He doesn't know Luke the way Noah does but he knows that Noah wouldn't put his faith in someone who isn't worth it.

And Luke proved that he cared for Noah so he'd have to deal with it for now.

“Did you bring what I asked?”

Casey nods, pats the case he's holding. “I cashed out all the bonds, and whatever you had in the vault is in there. That should be enough to hold you for a while. Is there anything else you need?”

“Just take care of my family, okay? I can't for a while so I need you to.”

“But where are you going?”

“Somewhere far so that we can try and fix this. I can't tell you anymore, Case, I'm sorry. Luke and I are leaving tonight. We've got a boat waiting for us.” Noah holds his gaze, steady. “Just. Don't give up. Okay?”

Casey's confused but he nods, promising whatever it is Noah needs. He knows that look on his best friends' face. He's not going to be able to change his mind. Noah takes the bag from him, drops it on the ground, pulling him into a hug. Casey holds on to him until Luke honks the horn. He pushes Noah away, jerks his head toward the noise.

“You owe me.”

Noah grins before turning and running to the waiting car.

Casey lets a breath out, walks toward his car, praying the entire way that whatever is going on doesn't get them hurt or worse.

 

  


 

The monitors in the room show the dock from every angle that they could manage and even a few she thought weren't possible. They're located far enough away that it'll be easy to leave before the commotion of everything even gets there.

_Never leave anything to chance._

Zoe doesn't turn her eyes away from the screen when she senses someone next to her. Without looking she knows it's Damian. He crosses his arms, watching the boat silently floating in the water. She doesn't have time for this. There's a job to be done and she can't afford the distraction.

“I always thought you loved him.”

Her whole body tenses at that and she can't help the bitter laugh that escapes. “So did I.” His eyes leave the image to fall on her and at some other point she might have cared but they're beyond that now. The door opens, letting in three of the Big Suits as she's always called them in her mind. One of them is Agent Johnson and she hears as he greets Damian.

They speak in Italian for a few minutes, Damian asking if there's any other way. His distress annoys her because in the end this is all his fault. He should have never brought his son into this life. She shakes her head slightly when one of the men asks if they need to start worrying. Nothing's happening and they were supposed to be there by now.

“Are you sure he gave you the right information?”

She doesn't even look at Agent Johnson when he asks that question. “Yes. I'm sure.”

“He might have caught on.”

“My cousin trusts me. He'll be here.”

The words barely leave her mouth before Luke appears on screen, dressed in black and carrying a small suitcase. Noah is right behind him, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds. Agent Johnson makes a satisfied sound and she throws him a quick glare before taking a seat to watch carefully.

Her cousin struggles with the suitcase, keeping one hand against his side, and then Mayer stops him, takes the case into his hand before kissing him softly. Her eyes sting a little but she blinks it away and waits until they disappear inside the cabin.

“We can't see them from here.”

She changes the angle and there's a better view from the side. They can make out the movement happening, their shadows passing by. “Best we could do without raising any of Luke's suspicions.”

“What exactly is going to happen?” Big Suit Number Two asks, leaning down to watch with her as Luke sticks his head out of the door, looking around before going back in. She doesn't answer him, her attention back to the screen. The engine turns over and Agent Johnson claps his hands happily behind her. When nothing happens, he frowns over at her expectantly.

“We're not going to kill anyone else by chance, Agent Johnson. You might have a blood thirst but that's not how I work.” The boat begins to move away from the dock, slow and steady. She swallows down on the sadness and frustration that rises up. She sticks her hand in her pocket and produces a detonator.

As soon as the boat clears the dock, she presses the button and the screen is filled with fire, the noise sharp and loud in their ears as the boat explodes.

They wait until the police have been dispatched and then it's handshakes and pats on her back. Agent Johnson touches her shoulder. “Well done. Make sure that it's confirmed.”

She nods her head, watches them go before turning her watery gaze back to the screen and breathes out. Clearing her throat, she wipes her hand across her face, straightens her shoulder and walks out of the room.

She still has a job to do.

 

  


 

_Twenty minutes earlier_

 

They move quietly through the boatyard, keeping to the shadows as they go. Luke holds a hand against his side, wincing as the pain flares up his side. Noah eyes him carefully, mouth drawn into a frown but he doesn't say anything. They've already had this argument several times, and this isn't the place. Later, when they're safe and he can hold Luke again, he'll yell at him for playing the hero.

“How much time do we have?” Luke asks, eyes scanning the area quickly.

Noah glances at his watch. “Twenty minutes.”

“Then let's go.”

They stay as far from the lights as they can. Luke wants to keep off any kind of possible video feed the dock might be under. Security is fairly tight and Luke doesn't want to risk them being caught on any footage. Once they've passed the building, they turn down the path until they reach one end where Noah leans back to look up at the cruiser docked to their left.

Noah brings his lips to Luke's ear and whispers. “This is the little boat you got us?” He can feel Luke's grin and it makes his insides shiver even now.

“I never said little.”

Luke starts to climb the ladder, holding the case in one hand but he lets go, cursing and clutching his side in the process. Noah steps forward, grabs the briefcase before it falls into the water then glares up at Luke. “You're not up to this.”

“We don't have a choice.” He reaches out, skims fingers down Noah's face. “I can do this. I'm not about to give up. Not when I found you, dummy.”

“Seriously?” Noah rolls his eyes but his lips twitch up in a smile. “Let's get on this stupid boat so I can show you how much I like you being the dork you are.” Luke laughs as he bends to kiss quickly then climbs the rest of the way. Noah grips the handle in his hand tightly following behind. Once they board, Luke hurries around the stern and guides them into the cabin, closes the door fast.

Noah removes his jacket and shirt, throwing open the case, pulling out the diving suit, handing Luke his and then forcing his eyes somewhere else so he doesn't have to see a naked Luke. He kind of has a weakness there. He pulls off his pants, hears the quick intake of Luke behind him, and hides his grin. He zips everything up, turns to see that Luke is watching him, eyes dark and he points at him.

“This is not the time for that.”

“It's always the time for that.”

“Are you always this corny or just during high stress situations?”

Luke shakes his head, hands up in a sign of surrender that Noah doesn't buy at all. “Right. But when this is over, I get to climb on top of you and have my way is all I'm asking.”

“You're hopeless.”

Luke gestures to the back of the cabin. There's a lot of really expensive looking furniture in the room and he feels a pang of guilt about that but they're near the back, at the other exit and Luke throws the door open, sees the dark water below, waves lapping gently against the side of the boat.

“You sure they can't see this side?”

Luke shakes his head. “No. Zoe made sure they got every angle except this one. She's got the feed for this camera filtering in from a different location. They won't tell the difference.” He kisses Noah's mouth, then jerks his head to the water. “Go on. I'll be right behind you.”

Noah's heart stops for a second and he glares at Luke. “What are you going to do?”

“Someone has to start the boat, get it moving away from the docks and --”

“Then we'll do it together.”

“No.”

“We don't have time to argue.”

“Then I guess we better get this boat started.”

“Get in the water, Noah. Jim will lead you out and --”

“And what if something goes wrong and you need help?”

“If something goes wrong you won't be able to do anything about it. Baby, you need to be out first, safe.”

Noah shakes his head. “I'm not leaving you behind.”

Luke curses, glaring at him for a long second then closes the door and runs back to the front. Pulling out a different bag from under one of the seats, he throws it at Noah. “Get everything in there, okay?” Noah pulls out what Luke had packed for them: fake passports, the money Casey had managed to get him, a couple of guns and a severe looking blade. He doesn't think much about it when he switches bags. By the time he's finished he can hear the quiet purr of the engine and they start moving.

“Let's go. We have less than a minute.”

Noah runs behind Luke, wrenches the door open and stops to tell him something when the whole body of the boat shakes, the explosion throwing him out the door and into the water. He's not ready and the shock of cold hits him, makes him flail in the water. He takes in a lungful of water, panics that he can't breathe. The strap of the bag chokes him and he fights to get to the surface.

Something yanks him down and the fear rises further makes him fight until he feels hands on his face. He opens his eyes, the water stinging them but he can see Luke. There's another hand and he know it's Jim. That was the plan, he remembers through his panic. He's got an oxygen mask and he breathes in, coughs and chokes but it's better now. He watches Jim give Luke one and then he holds on to the tank, lets it pull him through the water.

Luke seems to be doing fine.

That's all he cares about.

He keeps breathing in, closes his eyes and just lets himself be guided. It doesn't take long before they stop and he's pushed from behind up to the surface. When he breaks the surface, he claws the mask off his face and gasps in air, coughs out water until he's shaking. Luke is there, hugs him close and whispers into his hair. “You're okay. We made it, baby.”

Noah holds on tight.

 

  


 

Jim Mercer is probably one of the most intimidating men that Noah's ever met. Hands down. He's tall with dirty blonde hair, a devilish smile that always starts on one side of his mouth, blue eyes that tend to sparkle a lot. He's ridiculously capable, too. He manages to get them out of the water and into a waiting speedboat. They make it to shore in ten minutes and watch from there for a moment as the Coast Guard swarms the flaming boat.

Jim pushes them into a car and they’re on the road before Noah can blink. Luke's hands are all over him. He keeps asking if he's okay, forehead creased with worry. Noah's throat hurts from the water and smoke so he curls a hand around Luke's neck and pulls him in, kisses him hard, thorough until his hands clench on Noah's shoulders.

The car stops and then they've switched to a plane. Everything is blur, rushing past before he can even wrap his head around it. By the time they take off, Noah can't keep his eyes open. He wakes up with Luke curled into his side, face buried in Noah's neck, and when he shifts to move away, his hands clench on him, eyes still closed.

He looks around to find Jim watching them from the other seat. He gives Noah a quick smirk when he brings Luke in closer, possessive hand on his head. He closes his eyes again, falls back into sleep. When he wakes up again, they've landed and they follow Jim down the tarmac to another car.

He hands Luke a large manila envelope. “Zoe sent this ahead. She says it has everything you requested.” He turns to Noah and smiles this time, teasing. “You've got to be something special. I've known Luke for years and he never broke character until you showed up.” The grin he turns on Luke makes Noah's stomach churn unhappily and he glances away, takes a step to the side to give them some privacy.

Luke hugs Jim, thanks him again for helping them out.

“We do for friends.” He gestures to the car. “It's got a full tank, the directions are in the glove compartment along with a couple of cellphones. Untraceable, of course. The house isn't that far, maybe an hour. I made sure you're stocked up for a while so you won't have to go into town. The wifi connection is the best so make use of it.”

Luke grins. “Again, untraceable.”

Jim shrugs, gives Noah an amused look as he stands stiffly to the side. “Did you expect anything else?”

Luke shakes his head. “Not from you, no. We won't be here too long. The plan is to keep moving until e we figure out what next to do, but thanks for everything.”

“Not a problem.”

“You know what I do now. Any plans on telling me about yourself, James?”

“Maybe someday.” He flicks his gaze from Luke to Noah and back. “Be careful. Those guys you're messing with don't play games they don't win. If anything happens, I'll contact you.”

Noah looks up when he Jim sticks his hand out to him, takes it after a second and meets his eyes. “Your doctor friend will contact me when it's done and I'll let him know you're okay.”

“Thank you.”

“Just take care of each other, alright?”

He hugs Luke once more, adjusts his sunglasses on his nose and walks back to the plane.

Luke stands next to Noah, wraps his hands around his waist and says. “He's a good friend.”

Noah has to agree. “We're lucky.”

They walk hand in hand towards the car.

 

  


 

**EPILOGUE**

“Senor Wilson! Senor Wilson! Le llego una carta!”

Luke glances up from his book, smiles at the little boy running up the beach toward the house. “Ah si. Gracias, Manuel.” He stuffs a hand in his pocket, producing a bill and handing it to the overjoyed little boy. He takes the letter from a chubby hand, watches the boy take off back to the edge of the boardwalk.

“You know he's going to just buy candy with that, right?”

He rolls his lips inward to keep from laughing at Noah's constant worry that the local kids are going to die from sugar shock one day. “I don't think some sugar is going to hurt him.”

“This is why they love you more than me.”

Luke snorts, glances up at Noah. “They don't.”

“They call me The Other Mr. Wilson. Tell me that's doesn't mean something.”

The thought actually makes Luke's heart beat faster. When they found the island and set up their permanent base (“Home, baby. Can you just call it our home?”), it had seemed logical to use the same name. Luke original intent had been to pretend they were related but Noah had pointed out that it would probably be a bigger scandal if someone caught two brothers making out on the beach than if they just pretended to be married.

Pretending was getting to be too hard. He knows he wants Noah forever and there's no doubt that his feelings are returned. Noah gave up his whole life to be with him.

But this isn't the time.

Taking down The Company is their first priority and they're on the brink of setting that into motion. Once they've done that, they can think about the rest of their future.

Noah pushes him forward on the lounge chair, scooting in behind, wrapping his legs and arms around Luke. “What's that?” He presses his mouth to Luke's skin, sucks in a bruise at his neck, pulling a long moan out of him. Luke's head rolls to the side to give better access. They've got maybe ten minutes before he's going to need to be inside Noah.

“Hmmm. It looks like it's from Jim.”

Noah tenses for a quick second, blows over the wet, throbbing skin he'd been nipping before finding a second spot, bites down hard.

Luke thinks his jealousy is kind of cute.

“He says that Casey contacted him to tell him that everything back home is better. Lucinda is recovering at the farm.” He says this quietly and glances to look at Noah's profile. His jaw clenches, eyes closing and he leans his chin on Luke's shoulder. The guilt is apparent on his face and he tries to soothe. “You know they're safe this way, babe. It won't be forever.”

“Yeah, so they grieve me and you for nothing.” The words are muffled by Luke's shirt. He doesn't try to argue. The few fights they've had were about this very thing. Noah sighs, nods into Luke's neck. “But you're right. We have no other choice for now.”

Luke raises his hand to Noah's face, skims his fingers down his jaw. “Won't be long.” He reads more, letting his hand fall down to find Noah's, interlacing their fingers. “Apparently, Reid managed to convince her to go to rehab and Casey says it's helped so far.” They had almost given up their entire plan after they received word of Lucinda's accident but in the end they knew it would have only made things worse for everyone.

“Good. Anything else?”

Luke’s eyes zoom in on the next sentence and he stops breathing for a moment when he reads it. It's written in the middle of the letter, hidden between the lines about their family. Luke had come up with the coded message himself, had been waiting for it with every update and here it was.

Noah's hand threads through his hair, twists it, yanking gently. “Luke? What's going on?”

His chest aches a little because this is it. What they've been waiting for.

“Hey, baby. Talk to me.”

He turns his face toward Noah's, grins large and satisfied.

“Zoe is ready.”

Noah blinks at him a few times, expression warring between disbelief and hope. “So...”

Luke leans in to kiss him deep and full. “It's time to head home.”

 

_End._

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is loved and appreciated and adored! Leave here or at [LJ](http://frances-veritas.livejournal.com/410463.html?mode=reply).
> 
>  **Kat says:** This story is like epic awesome. It's my first collaboration on a story of this length and I'm so honored and happy that it was with someone I think is uber talented. Moey made this experience fun and challenging. I'll work with her again anytime. (Hint! Hint!). Thanks so much my Moey Moe for being so great and agreeing to let me do this with you. I also want to thank Shannon for her patience. She is seriously the best beta ever. For realz. And lastly, thank you to April for spurring me on and letting me all nuts while I worked on this. Hope you all enjoy this!
> 
>  **Moey says:** Um. So. Some 53,000 words later. I hoped you guys enjoyed this story! Because for like over a year I've always wanted to read an AU Luke/Noah fic where one of them was sent to kill the other. And of course they fall epically in love. But THERE WAS NONE. And then I was like, "hmmmmm, idk, maybe I can write it? maybe?!" And that thought lasted for maybe like 5 seconds cause me? Write fic with actual plot and shit? Yeah. No.
> 
> And then this year's big bang came around and I was on the phone with Kat one night. And I jokingly, JOKINGLY, mind you, brought up my prompt to her and she was like, "dude, write it." And I was like, "dude, i can't." And then she was like, "dude, i'll write with you." And I was like, "dude...really?"
> 
> Then this happened. dfklasjfskjfhasfkjsfhasfkjlasfhasfaskjfs!!
> 
>  _Kat:_ I love Kat. She's one of the most amazing writers I've encountered in any fandom and it was such a fucking awesome experience writing this with her. And bless her, she didn't run away screaming when I changed the plot of this story 65251146531 times. Or changed scenes, situations, names, everything 5144131631 times. She didn't tell me to shut up either. Heh. So thank you, Kat. FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN. CAUSE I WOULD HAVE NEVER EVER WRITTEN IT IF YOU HADN'T HELPED ME.
> 
> P.S. We may or may not have a sequel in the works already. IDK.
> 
>  _Allegra:_ What are you all still doing here reading this long ass author's note? DON'T YOU KNOW THERE'S AMAZING FUCKING ART THAT GOES WITH THIS FIC? Again, it's [HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE](http://aoleander.livejournal.com/1431.html). Please leave Allegra amazing feedback! She was a rockstar through this. As she freaking made this art before Kat and I even wrote the scene we wanted art for. She just worked off details. SHE'S AWESOME. Thanks times a million again, bb.
> 
>  _Shannon:_ Thank you so much for doing last minute beta to end all LAST MINUTE BETAS. And didn't laugh too hard at our sleep-deprived writing. It was pretty horrendous, people. Your eyeballs would have bled. Thanks, Shannon!
> 
> Ella: She like told me this didn't suck and stuff. Thanks. I guess. iloveyoualotbutdontreadtoomuchintoitokay.


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